The Spell for Kagome
by DayDreamer62386
Summary: Everyone is getting ready for Kagome to have her baby while dealing with the search for Kohaku, getting a hold on the jewel shards, and a secret plan involving Kagome and Kikyo.
1. Missing Friends

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

Chapter One

* 

Inuyasha grumbled to himself as he waited for Kagome and Sango to finish getting ready. To him, it felt like they had been brushing their hair and fixing little details on their outfits for hours. _Girls_ he thought _why do they have to bother so much_.

"Because we want to look nice for you Inuyasha. You wouldn't want to travel around with too girls that didn't look good." Kagome said, throwing Inuyasha way off.

"Did you just read my mind?" he asked a little startled. 

"No, I'm just really good at reading your expressions." Kagome replied with a small laugh.

Eventually they were ready to leave their camp, but Kagome and Inuyasha got into a disagreement about where to starting looking for jewel shards. Kagome wanted to go to the mountains; they hadn't been there in a long time. But Inuyasha wanted to head deeper into the woods.

"Inuyasha! I'm the only one who can see the jewels, don't you think I should have the final say!" Kagome yelled.

"No. You're just acting stupid Kagome, I know what I'm doing!" Inuyasha yelled back.

"Inuyasha, maybe you should just listen to Kagome." Sango said calmly. She knew that this could only end in a _sit_.

"No! We're going into the woods."

"Sit!" Kagome yelled, then in a sweet tone bent down to his level, "Alright Inuyasha, we'll go into the woods."

Inuyasha didn't like the tone of her voice. I sounded like she as planning on attacking him in the middle of the night or something. But he tried not to look worried and led everyone through the woods in silence.

"Kagome. What are you going to do to Inuyasha." Sango whispered.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Kagome said in a falsely sweet tone. Sango laughed a little bit, and was thankful that she never got on Kagome's bad side.

While they were walking Miroku slowed down his pace a little bit, so he was walking behind the two girls and Shippo jumped on Kagome shoulder. "Shippo. Give me warning next time." Kagome complained a little bit.

"Kagome could you do me a favor?"

"What?"

"I don't want to lose my favorite string while we're in the woods, will you hold on to it for me?"

"Your favorite string?" Kagome asked.

"Yeah it's really lucky."

"Alright." Kagome took the string that Shippo had handed her and tucked it in to her backpack.

"Oh! And I just wanted to warn you." Shippo whispered in Kagome's ear.

"Warn me about what?"

"Miroku."

Kagome turned her head slowly and noticed that Miroku had been watching her and Sango's butts the whole time. "Pervert!" Kagome screamed and punched him in the stomach.

They all walked on for a few more hours until they came to a cave. Then sun was starting to go down so Miroku suggested that they could use the cave to make camp, but Kagome immediately protested.

"I don't want to go in there." She said.

"Do tell me your afraid." Inuyasha said.

"I'm not. I just have a really bad feeling it."

"Kagome stop acting foolish. We need someplace to stay."

"What's wrong with sleeping outside."

"No Kagome." Shippo said, "It is going to get really cold tonight."

"You see." Inuyasha said. "Now come on." He reached for Kagome's arm, but she moved out of his reach.

"I'm not going in there!" Kagome yelled. Sango, Shippo, and Miroku moved out of their way, they knew that this was going to be a big fight.

"Kagome! Stop acting like this!" Inuyasha yelled, then he grabbed Kagome and tossed her onto his back and started to walk to the cave. "You're going inside, then you're going to see that there is nothing wrong."

"No Inuyasha." Kagome yelled. For a few minutes she didn't know what to do, she didn't want to yell sit because then she would fall to the ground too, so she reached up and grabbed his ears and pulled as hard as she could.

"Stop it. Owwwww!" Inuyasha yelled, but he didn't let go of Kagome.

She felt a little guilty, but knew that it was the only way to get Inuyasha to let her go. So she pulled even harder.

"Ahhhhh!" Inuyasha screamed, and he finally threw Kagome to the ground. "Bitch. Fine stay out here, and see if I care." He yelled as he walked into the cave.

Miroku, Sango, and Shippo stared at Kagome in silence for a few seconds. They didn't want to go into the cave and deal with an angry Inuyasha, but they didn't want to stay outside in the cold. So they carefully walked into the cave.

Kagome watched the sun go down and started to feel the bitter breeze on her legs, but she didn't regret staying outside. A small voice in her head told her not to go inside that cave and she listened to it.

Eventually she found a semi-comfortable spot on the ground and tried to sleep, but she couldn't. The coldness kept waking her up. Then she heard a twig snap. She sat up quickly to see where it came from, and found her self face to face with Inuyasha. He was sitting next to her.

"Here." He said, and he wrapped a blanket around her.

"Shouldn't you be inside the cave?" Kagome said a little sarcastically.

"You shouldn't be sleeping outside on your own and unprotected." He replied, then he closed his eyes.

Kagome laid back down, but stared up and Inuyasha. He was trying to sound like he wasn't concerned about her, but Kagome saw right through him. _You should let your sweet side out more often Inuyasha._ Kagome thought. After a while she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Inuyasha listened to the sound of Kagome's breathing until he was sure she was asleep, then he opened his eyes and looked down at her. She looked vary peaceful when she was asleep. He felt a need to reach out and touch her cheek, but decided not to, he didn't want her to wake up.

Eventually he laid down and turned his head to look at Kagome. He could see that her eyes were moving around under her eyelids. _I wonder what she's dreaming about_. He thought to himself. Kagome's lips started to move and she mumbled something, but he couldn't understand what she was saying.

He rolled over on to his back and closed his eyes so he could go to sleep, then he started to dream.

*Inuyasha's Dream*

Inuyasha stood in the middle of a camp that the group had set up. Sango was bent over a bowl of water looking at her reflection; Miroku was standing by some tree looking up at Shippo, whom was sitting on the lowest branch.

"Where's Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, but nobody paid any attention to him. "Where's Kagome!" He asked a little louder and still nobody paid any attention to him.

"Inuyasha. I'm right here." He heard Kagome's voice behind him, but when he turned around, he only saw Kikyou.

Kikyou started to talk to Inuyasha, but he only heard Kagome's voice.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" The Kagome/Kikyou person said.

"Who are you?"

"Silly Inuyasha, I'm Kagome." She walked over to give Inuyasha a hug, but he was distracted by the sound of Sango screaming.

"Sango, what's wrong?" He asked.

*End of Inuyasha's Dream*

Inuyasha sat up and realized that the screaming was not a part of his dream, Sango really was screaming. He looked at Kagome and saw that she was already starting to stand up.

"Sango! What's wrong?" Kagome screamed as she ran into the cave, followed by Inuyasha. They were both shocked to see that Sango, Miroku, and Shippo were gone. That stunned them though. Neither Inuyasha nor Kagome had seen them running out of the cave in between the time of Sango's scream and now.

"Inuyasha, can you smell them?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha sniffed the air and was shocked that he didn't smell anything. "No." he said, "I can't smell any of their scents."

Kagome tried not to look too worried. How could they have left with out either of them knowing, and how could they leave without leaving a sent behind.

"Come on Kagome, let's get out of here." Inuyasha said and he grabbed Kagome's hand and led her out of the cave.

"What happened to them?" Kagome asked, she was in a little bit of a daze.

"I don't know." Inuyasha said, "we'll have to look in the cave in the morning."

*That Morning*

Kagome and Inuyasha didn't sleep for the rest of the night, so when the sun came up they were able to immediately start looking in the cave.

The inside of the cave didn't really help them. Sango, Shippo, and Miroku's scent weren't anywhere and the cave dirt looked like it hadn't been disturbed. As far as they could tell, nobody had stayed in the cave ever.

"How could this have happened?" Kagome asked herself.

"I guess we should have listened to you a little more last night."

"How are we going to find them?"

"I don't know Kagome. There is no trail for me to follow. It's like they were never here."

*Somewhere Else*

Sango opened her eyes and let out a groan. Her head felt like it had a deep crack going down it. _Did something hit it_ she asked herself. After a few minutes she was able to gather enough energy to sit up. The room she was in was very dark, but there was enough light to see a little bit.

Miroku and Shippo were in the corner; they looked like they were knocked out. She turned her head to the side, normally she could move with out any effort, but for some reason every time she moved her body parts screamed in pain. 

After a few more moments of regaining her composer she was able to notice that there were bars next to her instead of a wall. She was in a cage. "Inuyasha! Kagome!" She yelled out, but they didn't answer. "Anyone!" She screamed. She tried desperately to recognize anything that would tell her where she was, but nothing came to her mind.

"Sango." She heard the faint voice of Shippo. 

"What Shippo?" 

"Where are we?"

"I don't know." Sango tried not to let Shippo see the tears coming from her eyes. The last thing he would need now would be to see fear in her face.

"Where is Kagome?" He asked.

"I don't know Shippo. I don't know anything." She turned her head away from Shippo and closed her eyes. _Kagome we need help. Kagome._ She thought. It was her silent plea for help.

*Back with Kagome and Inuyasha*

Kagome sat down on the ground next to a tree and closed her eyes. She tried to think of someway to find Sango, but had no clue. They had disappeared without a trace. _Kagome we need help. Kagome_ she heard Sango's voice ringing in her head. "Sango?" She whispered out loud.

"What?" Inuyasha asked.

"I thought I heard Sango's voice."

"Which way was it coming from." He asked looking around.

"In my head."

Inuyasha looked at Kagome for a second then got an idea. "Kagome, I know a lady who could help us."

"What?"

Inuyasha sat down in his dog position so he was face to face with Kagome. "When I was little, there was an old witch that lived in a village not far from me. Parents would go to her when their kids went missing."

"Would she be able to help us?"

"I don't know why not." Inuyasha said.

Kagome thought about it for a moment. They didn't have any other choice and the voice Kagome heard sent chills up her spine. "Ok" she said, "Lets go."

Inuyasha picked Kagome up and set her on his back. "We'll get there a lot faster this way." He told her and then started running in the direction that he thought the witch lived. It took them almost all day to get to the old village that Inuyasha was talking about.

"Inuyasha?" A thought suddenly hit Kagome when Inuyasha set her down.

"What?"

"It has been over 50 years, do you think she will still be alive?"

Inuyasha thought about it for a moment then said, "Yes. All my life, she seemed ageless. She was old, but she never got older."

Kagome followed Inuyasha as he walked through the village and seemed determined to find the house that he was looking for. It didn't take them very long; Inuyasha had a really good memory. 

"Kagome." He said when they stopped in front of a small house. "Do you have anything that belong to Sango, Shippo, or Miroku?"

"Let me look." Kagome set her backpack on the ground and started to dig through it. She was about to give up on finding something until, at the very bottom, was the string that Shippo had handed her.

"I guess it really is lucky." Kagome muttered as she handed it to Inuyasha.

"Ok, come on."

Inuyasha led Kagome into the witch's house. It smelled a little odd. It smelled like several different herbs and perfumes had been used here. There was only one window, and for some reason it didn't let in very much light.

"Hello Inuyasha. I haven't seen you in a while." Came the sound of a raspy old voice.

"Hello Lady Lei." Inuyasha said in a soft tone. Kagome turned around and saw that there was a very old lady sitting in he coiner of the room.

"Who is this?" Lei asked, looking at Kagome.

"This is Kagome." Inuyasha answered.

"You've picked a very beautiful mate Inuyasha."

Kagome smiled a little bit. _She thinks I'm beautiful_. She thought.

"We need to ask you a favor." Inuyasha said.

"What is it Inuyasha?"

  
"Some of our friends have gone missing. Could you help us find them?" 

"I will try." Lei tried to stand up on her own, but she looked like she was having trouble, so Inuyasha grabbed her arm and helped her. She walked to the middle of her room where a large pot was sitting. Kagome tried to make out what was inside, but she couldn't tell. It looked like silver colored liquid.

"Kagome." Lei pulled Kagome out of her thoughts. "You may sit down next to me." Kagome looked at Inuyasha, who nodded, and sat on the floor next to Lei.

"Do you have something that belongs to them?" Lei asked Inuyasha.

  
"Yes." He handed Lei the string but kept standing. Lei hadn't offered him a seat, so he stade the way he was.

Lei took the string and tossed it into the pot of silver liquid. After a few moments of nothing, Kagome started to see a picture form. It was Sango sitting next to Shippo and Miroku. They all looked like they were badly beaten up. Miroku even seemed to have a broken arm.

"I can see the ones you are looking for." Lei said. "They are in a dark place, a cage."

"Can you tell where?" Inuyasha asked in a respectful, but urgent way.

"Somewhere in the mountains there is a small castle. They are trapped in the dungeon."

"Do you know who kidnapped them?" Kagome asked.

"No. But you will need to find them soon. If three days go by and you haven't gotten them out. One of them will be killed."

"Killed." Kagome held back a tear. "By who?"

"I don't know. I'm sorry."

Kagome watched the picture of her friends grow fainter and fainter until is was finally gone. "That is all the information I can give you." Lei said to Kagome.

"We should go get them." Inuyasha said. "Thank you Lady Lei."

Inuyasha and Kagome started to leave the house, but Lei stopped them. "Inuyasha, I need to talk with you."

"Oh, ok."

"Kagome, would you mind waiting outside." Lei said.

Kagome nodded and walked outside. She was a little happy to get some fresh air and sunlight. She sat down near a tree and watched some little kids playing a game. She didn't know what it was called, but they were trying to toss arrows through a ring while it was being tossed in the air.

One of the arrows flew a little to far and landed near Kagome. She picked it off the ground and walked over to the kids. "You should be more careful." She told them.

"Would you like to play?" One of the small girls asked.

"Alright. How do I play?"

"Just try to shoot an arrow through the ring when it is up in the air." The little girl said.

Kagome played with the kids for almost an hour until Inuyasha tapped her on the shoulder, "Come on Kagome, we should go."

The kids wined a little bit when Kagome told them she was leaving, but she didn't pay any attention to them. Inuyasha had an odd look on his face. It was something like being sad, tired, and having pity all in one.

"What did Lei want to talk to you about?"

Inuyasha hesitated a little bit before he answered her, "You."

"Me? She talked about me?"

"Yeah."

"What did she say."

"It was nothing important Kagome. Just nevermind. We'll talk about it later." Kagome could tell that he was trying very hard to change the subject. "We should head for the mountains now. I guess you were right all along."

*End of Chapter One*

What do y'all think?

I won't post my next chapter until I get 3 reviews.


	2. Day One

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. But someday, somehow, I will get my hands on the rights to Inuyasha before I die. I'm now on a mission, wish me luck.

Chapter Two

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Miroku placed his hand on his arm to see if it was broken. When he touched anything below his elbow a sharp pain would go through his entire body. He stared down at the broken arm and tried to remember how it got that way.

All her remembered was sleeping in the cave and hearing someone's footsteps. He thought that it was Inuyasha coming back into the cave so he just ignored it then nothing. What could have possible happened between the time he heard the footsteps and now.

"Miroku. Are you ok?" Sango asked.

He looked over at her. She was sitting next to some bars. She didn't look like she was hurt very much, a few scrapes and a bump on the head, but nothing bad. "I'll live." He said with a little smile. "How do you think we got here?"

"I don't know. Maybe this is why Kagome didn't want to go into that cave."

"I suppose so." Miroku was impressed that Kagome had been able the sense the danger in the cave, she was always able to surprise him with her abilities.

Shippo sat up and rubbed his eyes; he seemed to be the one to get out of everything all right. He just looked really dirty.

"Shippo, are you alright?" Sango asked as she half walked and half crawled in-between Shippo and Miroku.

"I'm fine." He almost seemed cheerful compared to Sango and Miroku. "Do you think Inuyasha will come to get us?"

"Only if he can find us." Miroku said, "I wonder if he even knows we're gone yet?"

"Sure he dose, we've been gone for almost a whole day." Shippo said as he stood up and walked around their cage for a little while.

"Shippo," Sango was overcome with curiosity "Do you remember what happened in the cave."

"Yes."

"What?"

"We went to sleep, then Kikyou made the hole in the ground."

"Hole in the ground?"

Shippo showed a little frustration by the fact that they didn't remember what had happened. "Kikyou came in and asked for Kagome, then - "

"Kikyou! What would she want with Kagome?" Miroku asked a little shocked.

"Then, " Shippo continued his story, "you guys said no' and started to fight her -"

"I don't remember fighting her, do you?" Sango asked Miroku.

"No."

"WHOULD YOU TWO STOP TALKING AND LISTEN TO MY STORY" Shippo yelled. Sango and Miroku were surprised at this sudden outburst, and decided to keep their mouths shut. "Then - " Shippo continued as he eyed them carefully to make sure they wouldn't interrupted him." Then she drew a white circle on the ground and it kinda – sucked us into it."

"Are you done?" Sango asked politely.

"Yes." Shippo grumbled and sat on the floor.

Miroku turned to Sango, "So what do you think Kikyou wanted with Kagome."

"I don't know. There are so many reasons why she would want to get her hands on her." Sango stood up and walked to the to the bars. It was really dark, so she couldn't see very well. But she was able to make out a long hallway and a very big door at the end of it.

"I wonder if we could get out of here." Sango said to herself.

"Sure we will. Inuyasha will eventually come for us. Just like Miroku said." Shippo walked next to her.

Sango thought about it for a little while. Inuyasha would at least look for them, there was no doubt in her mind about that, but something was nagging at her. _What's wrong with the idea of Inuyasha coming to get us?_ She thought. 

"What could possible go wrong in this rescue' mission?" Sango asked Miroku.

"I don't know, unless he is stopped or hurt while trying to help us."

No, that can't be it. Kagome thought_ Inuyasha is really powerful, he's always protecting Kagome. _"KAGOME!" Sango screamed, "This is just a trap to get Kagome."

"What? How?" Miroku asked.

"When Inuyasha gets here, Kagome will be with him won't she. This is all just a trap."

"Damn it, we have no way of warning them." Miroku said under his breath.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kagome opened her eyes and felt the wind moving her hair around; it took her a few seconds of wondering about it until she remembered that Inuyasha was running with her on her back. She lifted her head a little bit and looked around to see where they were.

"So, you finally awake." Inuyasha said without looking at her.

"Have you been running all night long, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha turned his head slightly enough to look at Kagome, "Yeah, so."

"You should rest."

"I can't, the mountains are still four days away, and I want to get there with one day to spare."

Kagome rested her head on Inuyasha's shoulder _you wouldn't think Inuyasha was this caring just by looking at him._ She thought. "Could we at least stop to eat?" She asked.

  
Inuyasha let out a sigh, he didn't want to stop running and waist time, but he was really tired from running all night. "Fine." He said, then he stopped running and set Kagome down.

Kagome started to dig through her backpack and found Inuyasha some Ramen, then started to eat some olives out of a can. Usually Inuyasha would show a little bit of interest in things that she had in her backpack. He liked to look at all the modern things she had, but he just ate his Ramen and looked toward the mountains.

Kagome tried to start a conversation with Inuyasha, but he wasn't in the mood for talking. "Inuyasha. You look, worried." She said in an attempt to brake the silence.

"Well, aren't you. Lei said one of them would die."

"Yes I'm worried, it's just that you don't get worried ever."

"Yes I do."

"When?"

Inuyasha turned his eyes from the mountains and looked into Kagome's, "When you get hurt."

Kagome blushed a little bit and looked down at her olives, "You've worried about me?"

"It's not a big deal." Inuyasha said, he was a little embarrassed about opening himself up like that.

"Yes it is. It means you care about me, even if only a little bit."

Kagome laughed when she noticed a bit of pinkness coming on to Inuyasha's face. He stood up and started to walk away, "Come on Kagome." He said, Kagome ran to catch up with him.

"I'm sorry Inuyasha, did I embarrass you?"

"No." But when he said that his face grew red.

Kagome smiled and walked beside Inuyasha silently, while she looked at his ears. "Sorry about you ears Inuyasha."

"What, what's wrong with my ears?"

"I'm sorry I pulled on them the other day. Are they still sore?"

"Yeah," he looked over and saw the guilt on Kagome's face, "b-but don't feel bad." He added. He hated making Kagome feel bad. "I should have listened to you about that cave in the first place."

Kagome stood on her toes and kissed Inuyasha behind the ears. "What was that for?" he asked, a little stunned. Kagome usually blushed at the thought of giving him a hug or sitting really near him.

"When I was a little girl, and I got hurt, my mom would kiss my sore spot. It always made me feel better. I thought maybe it would work for you too."

Inuyasha watched Kagome out of the coiner of his eyes. He thought it was really nice that Kagome was willing to kiss his ears to make them feel better, even though it really didn't help the pain go away. "Come on." He said, then he bent down so Kagome could jump on his back.

"What?"

"We don't have a lot of time to spare, Kagome, we will get to the mountains sooner if I'm running."

"Oh" she said. Kagome climbed onto Inuyasha's back and enjoyed the gentile wind blowing in her face as Inuyasha ran. She wrapped her arms loosely around his neck for better support and rested her face in his hair. Kagome had never noticed how soft his hair was.

Inuyasha noticed Kagome pressing her face into his hair and smiled. He had been worried that whatever took Sango, Miroku, and Shippo would somehow find a way to get Kagome too. The thought of losing Kagome was too much to take in. That was one of the reasons why he was so dedicated to finding the monster behind this and killing it.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked.

"What?"

"Do you plan to run all day and night?"

"Yes."

Kagome shied and looked at some birds flying in the sky. She didn't want Inuyasha to tire himself out before they got to the small castle that Lei talked about and have him to tired to fight.

"We'll be there soon Kagome, don't' worry."

Kagome stayed silent and let her thoughts wander. She thought about the fight they had about the forest over the mountains, funny how something like that seemed petty now. And she thought about the night that Inuyasha went out of his way to make sure she slept safely with a warm blanket. And she thought about the trip to Lady Lei's house. Then a question formed in her mind.

"Inuyasha?"

"What?" _My God_ he thought _Dose she always have to ask questions_ he thought.

"Was it just me or did you show more respect to Lady Lei then what you normally show people?"

"Yeah. I guess I've always respected her."

"Why. Lady Kaede has been just as helpful to us as Lady Lei, yet you call Kaede an old hag."

Inuyasha thought about it for a moment, how could he make Kagome understand his way of thinking. "I show Lei more respect because I never have to worry about Kaede turning me into a frog when she's mad."

"You should though."

"Should what?"

"Show Kaede more respect."

Inuyasha grumbled. "I'll try." He kept on running "Kagome, your weird."

"What? Inuyasha don't be mean?"

"Fine your not weird, you just don't notice anything."

  
"What do you mean." Kagome said, getting a little angry.

"Lei called you my mate, and you didn't even say anything."

Kagome's face turned bright red. "I didn't want to be rude and correct her."

"Sure." Inuyasha smiled knowing that he could still make her feel embarrassed.

"You still haven't told me what you guys talked about while I was playing with the children."

"Yes I did. I told you that we talked about you."

"Yeah, but you didn't go any deeper then that."

Inuyasha became a little reserved, "It's not important."

"Well, I think I have a right to know what you were talking about, after all, I was the subject."

"I'll tell you some other time Kagome, I don't feel much like going into a long story right now."

Kagome grumbled a little bit and decided to give Inuyasha the silent treatment until morning came.

"You don't have to get mad at me." Inuyasha said.

Kagome remained silent.

"Kagome, stop acting like that."

Kagome remained silent.

"Kagome!"

Kagome remained silent.

"Fine!" he yelled.

Kagome smiled at how easy it was to annoy Inuyasha and just enjoyed the rest of her ride.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kikyou stood behind the small door that Sango had noticed earlier. She was in a room light by thousands of candles. Some for light and some for a spell she wanted to perform when Kagome arrived. At the very end of the room was a small window. She walked over to it and stared out. 

She could feel Inuyasha coming her way, _I wonder if he'll risk bringing Kagome into my _

castle she thought.

She could tell that Sango had realized that she meant to trap Kagome, and she wondered if Inuyasha had come to that same conclusion.

"Impossible." She said, "He doesn't even know I'm the one who kidnapped them." She paced the room back and forth for a few moments then decided to get one of her prisoners'.

She opened the door and walked down the hallway to the cage she had them in. "You." She said, pointing to Miroku, "come with me."

"Why?" Sango asked.

Kikyou just ignored her. She waited for Miroku to stand up and walk over to the cage door that Kikyou was standing next to. "What do you want?" He asked.

"I want you to come with me." Kikyou said. She opened the door and let Miroku out but closed it before Sango and Shippo had a chance to get out. "Follow me." She said, "or I'll give you a broken arm to match that one." She said as she took hold of his arm.   
  
Miroku cried out in pain as she led him down the hallway, through the room with candles and down some stairs into another room. This one was extremely dark. "You will stay here for 3 days."

"And what happens after three days?"

"If Inuyasha doesn't get here in three days, I'll kill you." She said calmly, walked out of 

the room and locked the door behind her.

Miroku stared into the darkness silently. He had heard Inuyasha and Kaede talk about what a nice person Kikyou was, a pure soul' was what they said. "How could she have changed that much." He thought to himself.

Sango stood with Shippo wondering what was going to happen to Miroku. "Do you think she'll hurt him?" Sango asked. 

"Sango don't worry. Inuyasha and Kagome will save the day."

Sango looked down at Shippo and smiled (an extremely good thing regarding their current situation). Shippo could use simple childhood things and sound really wise without even knowing it.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

How do you guys like this chapter?

Review!

*I will not post the next chapter until I get a least 3 Reviews


	3. Day Two

Disclaimer: Ok, you all know about my mission. Well, I thought that I should try and get the rights to Inuyasha the old fashion way. Buying them. I went to the owner, but I only had five dollars to offer, so I was kicked off the property. So much for plan A. I still don't own Inuyasha.

****

Chapter Three

Inuyasha felt Kagome shift her wait on his back just as the sun was going down. Her silent treatment made her really bored, so she had fallen asleep a while ago. Inuyasha didn't mind though. When she was asleep he could listen to her mumble every once and a while, so he heard her voice more often when she was asleep compared to when she was awake.

He tried to concentrate on running, but laughed each time he heard her mumble his name. He even went so far to try and start a conversation with her, but it only lasted a few seconds long.

His mind was so set on running and listening to Kagome that he forgot about the sky that night. There was no moon, so Inuyasha turned into a full human. This took him completely off guard, and he tripped and fell to the ground.

"Sit." Kagome yelled when she hit the ground. Luckily Inuyasha wasn't that far from the ground in the first place so it didn't hurt as much.

"Kagome, stop saying sit' all the time."

"Sorry, Inu-" It took Kagome a second to realize why Inuyasha had black hair (still in a sleepy daze.) "Oh, you changed."

"Really, I hadn't noticed." Inuyasha said sarcastically. He stood up and tried to walk, but could barely move his legs, he had even less energy as a human.

"Inuyasha." Kagome hadn't bothered to stand up. "We won't make much progress while you're a human. Might as well sleep."

Inuyasha growled a little bit. Normally he would argue with Kagome, but he just didn't have the energy, so he sat down next to her. "Fine, but you have to promise to stop pestering me about it."

Kagome reached into her backpack and pulled out a blanket. "I only have one blanket Inuyasha." Kagome tried to hand it to him, but he just pushed it away.

"I don't need it Kagome."

"Yes you do. You're not used to sleeping while human." Inuyasha growled a little bit, but took the blanket.

Kagome laid down on her back and fell asleep really quickly, but it took Inuyasha a little bit longer. It wasn't that he couldn't sleep (he was really tired) but when he was in his human form he noticed the little details on Kagome's face more.

__

Stupid human emotions he thought, but he still couldn't help watching her sleep. She had that peaceful look on her face again. Inuyasha reached over and stroked her cheek with his hand.

Kagome didn't wake up when he touched her. Inuyasha stared at her for a few moments then leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips. Her lips felt warm and soft. He had often wondered what they felt like, but he never got the chance to kiss her before.

Kagome's eyes twitched a little bit and Inuyasha immediately backed up, hoping that she wouldn't wake up. He waited silently for a little while then eventually decided to go to sleep.

He picked a spot on the ground near Kagome and started to find a comfortable position. He glanced at Kagome one last time and saw that she was shivering a little bit, so he covered her with the blanket and went to sleep.

When morning came Kagome was the first one up. The first thing she noticed was that she had the blanket. "Inuyasha." She mumbled. _You can be so stubborn._ She looked over at Inuyasha and saw that he was still asleep. His hair was silver again and his ears were back to normal (or what would be considered normal in Inuyasha's case.).

Kagome stood up and stretched a little bit. She looked to the mountains and saw that they were only a few hours away. Inuyasha had traveled faster then he thought. She looked down at him and debated waking him up.

__

Nothing wrong with letting him sleep while I cook breakfast she decided and started to make some porridge.

Inuyasha sat up really quickly when he woke up. He had the dream of Kagome being in Kikyou's body again. It took him a few seconds to realize where he was, but the smell of Kagome's cooking drew his attention to her. "Kagome. Why did you let me sleep so long?"

"Inuyasha, you've only been asleep twenty minutes longer then me."

"That would be twenty minutes we could have been walking to the mountains."

"Inuyasha! We're only a few hours away from them," Inuyasha glanced at the mountains, he was surprised at how much progress he made. "Plus, I'm tired of just riding on your back all the time," Kagome continued. "It's boring."

Inuyasha looked at the ground. _Kagome doesn't like it when I carry her anymore_ He thought.

Kagome saw an almost hurt look on Inuyasha's face and she bit her tongue. "Here Inuyasha." She said, and she handed him a steaming hot bowl of porridge.

Inuyasha grabbed it and sat down on the ground. "Thanks." He mumbled, and began to eat his food. Kagome tried to smile and be cheerful during their meal, but it was hard. "Inuyasha." She got tired of his lack of conversation. "Why are you in such a bad mood?"

"I'm not." He said in and obviously bad mood' tone.

"Inuyasha, just tell me."

Inuyasha was silent for a few moments then asked (in a quieter tone) "Do you really not like riding on my back."

Kagome was a little surprised, she didn't think Inuyasha cared that much about something like that. "No."

"Then why did you say you didn't like it?" Inuyasha asked without looking Kagome in the eyes.

__

Is he blushing Kagome thought, "I didn't saw that I didn't like it. I just meant, without anyone to talk to, it's boring."

"You have me to talk to."

Kagome was surprised that Inuyasha said that, he never cared much about talking with her before. "I know, but when you make me mad, I didn't have anyone to talk to."

"I don't make you mad that often."

"Yeah," Kagome rolled her eyes, "Only every time you take a breath." Inuyasha laughed when she said that and continued to eat his food.

"I had a really weird dream." Kagome said. She was starving for some conversation.

"What was it about?" Inuyasha said with a mouth full of food.

"Believe it or not, I had a dream that you kissed me."

"What!" Inuyasha yelled after spitting out his food.

"It was just a dream."

"It was a stupid dream." Inuyasha said, he didn't want Kagome to think that it really happened. "Why would I ever kiss you."

The second that these words left Inuyasha's mouth he wished that he could take them back. Kagome slammed her bowl onto the ground and stood up. "Inuyasha, you're a jerk!" She yelled and started to walk toward the mountains.

"Shit." He whispered, then tried to catch up with her. "Kagome I'm sorry I didn't mean it like that."

"Really." Kagome didn't stop walking "And how, exactly, did you mean it?"

Inuyasha didn't really know what to say. " I just meant that I – ummmm - " He was at a loss for words.

"Forget about it." Kagome said, but Inuyasha could tell that she was still angry as hell, "We need to find the castle."

Shippo walked to the bars of their cage and stuck his head out. "What do you think she did with Miroku?" he asked.

"I don't know." Sango said, her voice was filled with the sound of helplessness. Shippo didn't really know how to comfort her, so he just sat in her lap and gave her a hug.

"Sango, don't be sad. Inuyasha will save us and then we'll get Miroku back."

Sango narrowed her eyes on the wall; she didn't want to think about Inuyasha coming. It just meant she would have to worry about the trap Kikyou set for Kagome. Then she noticed something on the wall, light.

The corner of the wall was lit up. "Shippo, where is that light coming from?"

Shippo jumped out of her lap and stared at the wall. "A hole." He said, "There's a hole in the wall."

"Is it big enough for you to fit through?"

"No."

__

Damn she thought. Sango stood up and looked out the hole. She could tell instantly that they were somewhere in the mountains, but she didn't know the exact spot. "Shippo come here." She bent grabbed Shippo and put him on her shoulders. "Tell me what your demon eyes see."

Shippo stared out the hole for a few moments, "I see Inuyasha." He yelled happily. "He's following Kagome. Looks like she's mad at him."

"What. You can see them." Sango didn't see anything.

"Over there." Shippo pointed in a direction and Sango stared in it. Eventually she did see a small red dot.

"How in the world can you see that so clearly to know that it's Inuyasha." She asked.

"I don't know, I just can."

"We need to find a way to warn them about Kikyou's trap." Sango said.

Down the dark hall, Kikyou had also started to feel the presence of Inuyasha, but she could tell that his mind wasn't on finding his friends. He was concentrated on something else. "Probably that damn Kagome girl, slowing him down."

She walked into the room filled with candles and got her ingredients ready, she had been planning this spell for months and didn't want to mess up. Kikyou smiled a little bit, knowing that Kagome had no idea what she was in store for.

Inuyasha growled a little bit as he tried to think of a way to get Kagome to stop being angry. "I said sorry." He yelled up at her. But she just ignored him. "Kagome." He ran up to her, grabbed her hand, and looked her straight in the eye. "Kagome, I didn't mean to make you feel bad."

Kagome tried to stay angry, but when she looked into his amber eyes, he truly did look sorry. She looked down at her shoes and Inuyasha knew that she had forgiven him.

Inuyasha smiled and kept on walking, without letting go of Kagome's hand. "Umm, Inuyasha."

"What?"

"You're still holding my hand."

"I know." Was all he said.

Kagome didn't want to admit it, but she was glad that Inuyasha didn't let go of her hand. He never showed this kind of care for her before and she wanted to enjoy every minute of it.

"I can see the castle." Inuyasha said a few minutes later. Kagome looked in the direction that his eyes were looking. She could just make out a small castle sitting on one of the mountains.

"Come on, we'll get there faster if I run." He said, and he grabbed Kagome around the waste and started to run.

They were standing a few feet away from the castle in a matter of minutes thanks to Inuyasha's speed, and they were just about to find a way inside when they heard Sango's voice.

"Inuyasha!" It called out.

They both looked up and saw Sango's face looking at them through a small hole in the wall. "Sango, are you alright?" Kagome yelled.

"Inuyasha, don't take Kagome in here."

"What is she talking about?" Kagome asked Inuyasha.

"I don't know, hold on." Inuyasha jumped up and clung to the wall just near the hole that Sango was talking out of. Kagome couldn't hear of word of what they were saying, so she waited for Inuyasha to come back down.

"What dose she mean?" She asked as soon as Inuyasha's feet touched the ground.

"This is all just a trap for you."

"Me?"

"Yeah. I'm going in alone. You wait out her, ok."

"Inuyasha no."

"Kagome, if you go in, I run the risk of you getting hurt in whatever trap there is. Just wait here where it's safe."

"Who would set a trap for me?"

Inuyasha hesitated before answering, "Kikyou." Kagome was too shocked to speak. "So just stay out here, Kagome." And Inuyasha walked into the castle before she could argue.

Kagome stood for a second completely stunned Kikyou? What did Kikyou want? She sat down by a tree that was somewhat in the shade and prayed that Inuyasha, Shippo, Sango, and Miroku would come out of this safe.

Inuyasha walked into the castle on complete guard. He had no idea what was waiting for him inside, but he wanted to be ready. He sniffed the air and caught onto Shippo and Sango's scent right away, but not Miroku's. _Where's Miroku's scent_ he thought.

He decided to follow his nose and he soon found the cage that Sango and Shippo were in. "Inuyasha." Shippo yelled.

"Quiet runt." Inuyasha said, he didn't want to alert anyone in the castle. Hopefully they would get out of this without being noticed.

"Inuyasha," Sango said quietly, "get us out of here, then find Miroku."

Inuyasha pulled at some of the bars and broke them right off, "Where's Miroku?" he asked as Sango and Shippo stepped out of their cage.

"Kikyou took him." Shippo said.

"Took him where?"

"Down that hall." Sango said, pointing to the door at the end of the hall. "Do you want us to help you fight?"

"No, go make sure Kagome's ok." Inuyasha said, and he ran off toward the door. He was nervous about rescuing Miroku. He didn't want to come face to face with Kikyou.

He opened the door and passed through a room that was filled with candles. He sniffed the air and caught the slight scent of Miroku. He seemed like he was far away though. "Miroku!" he called as loud as he was willing to yell. He looked around the room and saw only one door.

__

He must be in there Inuyasha thought as he opened the door.

The sudden light that filled the room surprised Miroku, he lifted his head up and looked at the door, some one opened it. "Who's there?" he asked.

"Me." Inuyasha replied. Miroku was very relived that it wasn't Kikyou coming to kill him. "We need to get out of here" Inuyasha stated the obvious then helped Miroku to his feet.

"What about Sango and Shippo?"

"I already took care of them."

Miroku smiled to himself, Inuyasha was really helpful. "Do you know how to get out of this stupid castle?"

"Yeah, follow me." Inuyasha led Miroku through the room with candles, past the hall with Sango and Shippo's cage, and into the entrance of the castle. He froze in his place when he felt some place their hand on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Kikyou.

"So you finally came Inuyasha." She said.

Miroku didn't know what to do. On one hand, he didn't want to leave Inuyasha alone, but on the other hand; the exit was so near, it almost hurt to stay.

"You can go now Miroku." Kikyou said, without taking her hand or eyes of Inuyasha.

Kagome and Sango stood up when they saw Miroku walking out of the castle. "Miroku!" Sango yelled happily, "You're alright." She ran up to him and gave him a big hug and kiss on the cheek.

"Shippo and I were so worried about you." She said.

"No need I'm fine."

Kagome and Shippo walked up to where Miroku and Sango were standing, "Miroku, glad to see you in one piece." Kagome said.

"How's your arm?" Sango asked when she let go of Miroku.

"It's fine, Kikyou gave me some kind of potion to heal it."

Kagome looked down and her shoes when she heard Kikyou's name. She hated that word; it caused so much trouble between Inuyasha and herself. Miroku noticed Kagome's change of mood, but didn't know what to say to make her feel better.

"Where is Inuyasha?" Kagome asked when she suddenly realized that he was still missing.

"Inside." Miroku was a little hesitant to tell Kagome where Inuyasha was; he didn't know how she would take the information about him being alone with Kikyou.

"Inside. Is he hurt?"

"No, umm – he's talking with – Kikyou."

Kagome stood in silence for a few minutes. Sango, Shippo, and Miroku stared at her. They couldn't tell what she was thinking, for all they knew she was a volcano ready to blow.

"K-Kagome, are you alright?" Shippo asked while tugging on her sleeve.

Kagome seemed to wake up from a trance, looked down at Shippo, and tried to smile. "Yes Shippo, I'm fine." But everyone could tell that she wasn't.

"What do you want Kikyou?" Inuyasha said as soon as Miroku was gone.

"Inuyasha," she took her hand off his shoulder, "where is Kagome?"

"Kikyou, I know this whole thing was a trap."

Kikyou walked near enough to Inuyasha to feel his unsteady breath and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Inuyasha, hold me."

It took him a few seconds, but he pushed Kikyou away. "What do you want with Kagome?"

"Inuyasha, dose that stupid girl mean more to you then me?"

"What do you want with Kagome?"

Kikyou walked to the other end of the room and turned her back to Inuyasha. "I want many things with that girl. I want to see her dead. I want to see her suffer. I want to see her crush you heart Inuyasha."

"Kikyou, leave Kagome alone."

Kikyou turned and faced Inuyasha. "Get out."

"What?"

"Leave Inuyasha, go away with your ... Kagome." She spat out.

"Kikyou." For some reason Inuyasha wanted to comfort Kikyou. He didn't want her to be unhappy.

"So I take it, you still have feelings for me." Kikyou said, when she saw the look of compassion in his eyes.

It took Inuyasha a while to bring himself to answer her, "I will always care for you Kikyou."

Inuyasha and Kikyou both turned when they heard a sound near the door, they looked just in time to see the heal of Kagome shoe as she left the room. "Kagome." Inuyasha yelled out.

Inuyasha turned and started to run out after her, but he remembered that Kikyou was watching him, "Go Inuyasha." She said angrily, "she means more to you." Then Kikyou walked out of the room.

Inuyasha stood alone wondering what to do, then decided to chase after Kagome. When he got outside she was sitting next to Sango. "Kagome, can I talk to you?"

"Sure." She replied, but didn't make any kind of effort to stand up.

"Alone." Inuyasha said, a bit of blush hit his cheeks.

"Alright." Kagome stood up and followed Inuyasha away from everyone's earshot.

"Kagome, tell me what you saw."

"What I saw?" Kagome tried not to look Inuyasha directly in the face.

"I know you saw me and Kikyou talking, how much did you hear?"

Kagome tucked her hair behind her ear. "Nothing Inuyasha."

But he could tell that she was lieing "Kagome," he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Inuyasha, don't touch me."

"Kagome, why are you upset."

A few tears somehow found their way into Kagome's eyes, and she brushed them away before Inuyasha could see. "I did hear the end of your conversation."

Inuyasha bit his lip, "The part where I said -"

"That you care for Kikyou." Kagome finished for him, then tried to walk away, but Inuyasha grabbed her arm.

"Kagome," he said. "You didn't hear me right."

"Spare me Inuyasha." Kagome said and she started to walk away.

"Kagome, I will always care for Kikyou a little bit. But I'll never never-"

"Never what?" Kagome stopped walking and turned to face him.

"I'll never, " Inuyasha couldn't find the right words to say what he wanted, "I don't love her Kagome. I love -"

Kagome stood still waiting for him to finish his sentence, but Inuyasha couldn't bring himself to say what he wanted.

"I – I don't love her."

"That's all?" she asked, a little hopeful.

Inuyasha hesitated, "Yeah" he said quietly while looking at his feet.

"Oh." Kagome blushed and mentally slapped herself for expecting Inuyasha to say anything other then what he told her. She walked off feeling like an idiot.

__

Fuck Inuyasha thought_ Why is it so god damn hard to tell Kagome I love her. _Inuyasha started to follow Kagome, but stayed a distance away from her. When everyone was gathered up, he made a mental promise to himself to tell Kagome. Eventually.

Sorry that my chapters are so long. I keep thinking of more and more stuff I need to add in before I end it. It's like my story has a life of its own.

Anyway – I'm not going to post the next chapter till I get some reviews.


	4. The Voice in Kagome's Head

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

Thanks for all the reviews, I feel loved. And just to let you all know .. I gave Kikyou a castle to live in.

Chapter Four

Kikyou stormed into her bedroom filled with rage. She began to kick the walls and punch pillow, she had never been so angry in her life. Kagome got away. After all those months of planning and gathering ingredients, she had gotten away.

"Lady Kikyou, are you alright." One of the servants had heard Kikyou's burst of anger and went to see what was wrong.

"Leave me alone." Kikyou yelled in such a harsh way that the servant went running.

__

Damn it Kikyou thought_ How will I get Kagome._ She sat in a chair next to one of the windows and looked out. She could almost see Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kagome, and Inuyasha walking away.

"Lady Kikyou", another servant had appeared at the door.

"I want to be left alone."

"But Lady Kikyou, I know how you can get Kagome."

Kikyou turned from the window and looked at the young girl standing in her door way. "And how could you possible help me?"

"I over heard Kagome talking with some other girl when they were outside."

"So."

"Well, Kagome said she could hear the other girl — what was her name — Sogo, Mango -"

"Sango."

"That's it! Kagome said she could hear Sango's plea for help, in her head."

"When?"

"When she was in the woods with Inukasa, Inusasha, Inu -"

"Inuyasha."

"Yeah, him. When she was in the woods with Inuyasha, the night you kidnapped the others."

Kikyou thought about it for a few minutes, "Alright, thank you, you may go now." The servant bowed her head slightly and walked away.

"Interesting." Kikyou said to herself. _While in a panic, Sango was able to contact Kagome. I'm sure I could do it without trying to hard._ She thought. Then Kikyou sat down to work on a plan.

She would call Kagome's name and lead her back to the castle, then perform the spell. "I wonder if it will work, that Kagome girl has very strong will power." Kikyou closed her eyes and silently called out Kagome's name.

****

With Kagome

The entire Inuyasha gang had decided to set up camp when the sun started to go down. Everyone had their little chores to do. Shippo made the beds (except for Inuyasha, whom was sleeping in a tree tonight), Inuyasha went to look for some fire wood, Miroku was in charge of getting water, and Sango and Kagome were supposed cook food.

"What are we eating tonight, girls." Miroku asked while carrying two buckets of water.

"Stew." Kagome responded.

"Stew." Miroku said with a tone of disappointment. "Well, I guess that's alright."

"Damn, I wish that sit command worked on him to." Kagome whispered, making Sango laugh and making Miroku and Shippo wonder what the hell was going on.

"Speaking of sit', where is Inuyasha?" Sango asked.

"You want to sit' me!" Miroku was shocked, he didn't think that Kagome was mad at him.

"Where's Inuyasha." Sango asked again.

"Oh umm," Miroku said "I think he's still getting fire wood."

"He sure takes a long time." Shippo complained, "Do we have to wait for him, or can we eat now."

"I guess we can start now." Kagome said, and she started to serve everyone. Dinner only lasted a few moments. Sango, Shippo, and Miroku hadn't eaten much in two days so they were all really hungry.

"Didn't Kikyou feed you?" Kagome asked as she gathered up there empty bowls. There was some stew left for Inuyasha, but other then that, they had eaten every bite.

"No, she's mean." Shippo answered.

Kagome thought about it for a minute then said, "She can't be that bad Shippo."

"What!" Miroku and Sango said in unison, "You're defending her."

"No. I just mean — she healed your arm, Miroku, so she can't be all bad."

Sango and Miroku both looked at each other, they hadn't thought of that. "Wow Kagome," Sango said, "you really try to see the good in people don't you."

"Yeah, I - " Kagome was just about to start talking when she heard someone call her name, _Kagome_. "Who said that?" She asked out loud.

"Who said what?"

Kagome remained silent, wondering if the voice would come back again, but it didn't. "Nothing. I'm going to take a bath."

"Do you want some company?" Sango asked.

"No. No thanks." She said, Kagome just felt like being alone.

"Poor girl." Sango mumbled as Kagome walked toward the stream.

"What do you mean?" Miroku asked.

"It's one thing to know that someone set a trap for you, but for it to be Kikyou It must be hard for her."

"Why would it be hard."

"She probably wants to protect herself, but doesn't want to hurt Inuyasha's feeling. We all know he still loves Kikyou."

"No he doesn't." Shippo piped up.

"What. How do you know?" Miroku asked.

"I followed Kagome when Inuyasha wanted to talk to her alone."

"Shippo, that was very rude." Sango said.

"Do you want to know what he said?"

"Yes." Miroku and Sango responded. Apparently they thought it was wrong to spy on a private conversation, but didn't have a problem with gossiping about the information Shippo had.

"He told Kagome that he didn't love Kikyou."

"He told her that!"

"Yeah, and guess what, there's more."

"What?"

"He was about to tell Kagome that he loved her, but he couldn't bring himself to say it."

"Inuyasha must be afraid of rejection." Sango said, and for a fleeting moment, she felt bad for Inuyasha.

****

Near the Stream

Inuyasha could feel his ears burning as he picked up some wood. _Someone's talking about me_ he thought, and he wondered who. He was holding enough wood to last them a week, nobody had told him exactly how much they needed.

"This should be enough." He said to himself and started to walk back to the camp.

As he walked, Inuyasha looked up at the stars. They looked really beautiful tonight. _I should look at the stars more often_ he thought to himself. When Inuyasha looked up at the stars, he thought about Kagome and what his life was like with her.

He thought to the time before he knew he, though he tried to block that part of his life out (to many bad memories). Back then he never would have looked up at the stars and thought about the beauty of them.

Kagome had changed Inuyasha, he wasn't the same cold hearted half demon that he used to be. _That girl can work wonders_ he thought. But Inuyasha was torn out of his thoughts when he heard the sound of splashing.

He walked off his path, to the side, and came to the edge of a stream. It only took him a few seconds to realize that the splashing he heard was Kagome taking a bath. She wasn't facing him, so all Inuyasha could see was water dripping down her back.

Kagome hadn't noticed Inuyasha standing there, so he thought that he could get away without a sit', but as soon as he took his first step back to the path he stepped on a twig, making a loud snap.

Kagome tuned around to see where the sound came from and saw Inuyasha trying to quietly sneak away. "Inuyasha!" She yelled out with more surprise then anger.

"What?" Inuyasha stopped walking away, but he didn't turn around to look at Kagome.

"Were you spying on me!"

"No."

Kagome stared at Inuyasha and debated in her mind if she should believe him. "Don't look Inuyasha." She said with a little less anger. "I'm getting out."

Even though Inuyasha had his back to Kagome he closed his eyes until she said it as ok to turn around.

"Sorry I walked in on you." He said, even though he didn't see anything he still felt embarrassed and was finding it hard to look Kagome in the eyes.

"Umm, it's alright." Kagome looked up at Inuyasha and tried to read his expression. She could tell that he was embarrassed. She even found it a little funny that he was more uncomfortable then she was, and he had his cloths on the whole time. "Inuyasha?"

"What?"

"What's your favorite color?"

Inuyasha stared at her blankly, "What do you mean?"

"What's your favorite color?"

"Umm, red I guess."

"Figures." Kagome said looking at his clothing.

"Why'd you ask."

"My mom told me that if someone was uncomfortable, just ask a simple question."

"Oh."

"What's your favorite animal?"

"Never thought about it." Inuyasha said. "What's yours?"

"Dogs." Kagome said while tugging gently on his ears. Inuyasha laughed a little bit and they soon found their way back to the camp.

"What's so funny?" Miroku asked when Inuyasha and Kagome stepped into the light from the fire.

"Nothing." Kagome said, but she didn't stop smiling.

Inuyasha put the wood down next to the fire and looked in the big pot of stew. "We left some for you." Sango said.

"Thanks."

"It was Kagome's idea."

Inuyasha turned to Kagome and looked her right in the eyes, "Thank you."

Kagome blushed a little bit and said, "Your welcome." She didn't know why they thank you' made her blush like that, but it did.

Miroku, Shippo and Sango fell asleep really quickly, but Inuyasha and Kagome stayed up for a little while longer. Inuyasha was up in his tree and Kagome was sitting on her bed on the ground.

"Inuyasha, why do you sleep in trees?" Kagome asked. She had often wondered, but always forgot to ask.

"Nobody can sneak up on me if I'm up in a tree."

"Other then flying demons."

Inuyasha looked down at Kagome, he had never thought about flying demons. "I guess."

"Have you always slept in trees."

"No, I just fell into the habit."

Kagome stood up and started to climb up the tree. "What are you doing Kagome?"

"I want to see what's so great about sleeping in a tree."

"Kagome, you'll fall and brake you neck."

Kagome ignored him and kept climbing till she was in the same branch that Inuyasha was in. He watched her try to get to the end that he was in and tried not to laugh at her. She looked really funny. She had a concentrated look on her face, but still managed to stumble around.

"Stop laughing Inuyasha, I haven't climbed a tree in a long time." But when she said stop laughing' Inuyasha just laughed louder. "Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled and through herself off balance.

Inuyasha moved quick enough to grab her before she fell then he pulled her to where he was sitting.

"Thanks." She muttered.

Inuyasha pulled Kagome onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her and said, "Now try and go to sleep."

"Inuyasha." Kagome was a little embarrassed about they way he was holding her.

"What?" Inuyasha said with his eyes closed.

"Isn't this a little indecent?"

"You wanted to sleep in the tree, and I don't want you to fall in the middle of the night."

Kagome decided that he was right. So she closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest and fell asleep while listening to Inuyasha's heart beat.

Inuyasha was glad that she had decided to stay with him. He liked being able to hold her while she slept and was will to use the falling out of the tree' excuse.

****

Morning

Shippo was the first one to wake up in the morning. He rubbed his eyes and looked for Kagome. He was a little surprised to see that she was gone, but when he saw her up in the tree with Inuyasha he was happy. They looked cute together.

"Kagome." Shippo called. Kagome's eyes twitched a little bit but she didn't wake up, "Kagome." He called again.

Kagome opened her eyes and looked down at Shippo, "What?" she asked, still a little groggy.

"Kagome what are you doing in the tree."

"I felt like sleeping up here."

"You didn't like my bed." Shippo sounded a little hurt. He had worked a long time to make Kagome's bed more comfortable then anyone else's.

Kagome tried to get out of Inuyasha's arms without waking him up. It wasn't an easy task, considering how much of a light sleeper he was, but she found a way. It took a long time but she eventually got to the ground beside Shippo.

"I loved your bed, Shippo. Thank you for making it."

Shippo smiled, he couldn't help but be proud of himself.

"Shippo, I'm going to the river to wash my face, do you want to come."

"You took a bath last night. Why do you need to wash your face."

Kagome and Shippo started to walk toward the river, "Two reasons. My mom said that I should wash my face every chance I get, and it helps wake me up."

"Oh."

Kagome bent down and placed her entire face under the water when she got to the river. The cool water felt so good on her face. _Kagome_ she heard the voice again_ Kagome_. She lifted her head out of the water and looked around.

"Is something wrong?" Shippo asked.

"No." Kagome said. She didn't know if the voice in her head was her imagination or not, and she didn't want to anyone to worry.

Shippo and Kagome rested in the grass for a few moments then decided to go back to the camp. "Kagome."

"What?"

"Will you teach me to fight?"

"What?"

"I want to learn how to fight. You guys all seem so strong."

"Wouldn't Inuyasha be better at that. He dose most of the fighting."

"Inuyasha will laugh at me if I ask him." Shippo looked down at the ground.

"I could ask him for you." Kagome suggested.

Shippo thought about it for a little while then smiled and agreed, "I'll ask him later today."

"Kagome, are you -" Shippo started to talk, but stopped.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Come on, tell me Shippo."

"I just wanted to know if you've given Inuyasha a kiss yet."

"What!!" Kagome's face turned bright red, she was really embarrassed.

"You like him. Don't you."

Kagome couldn't bring herself to answer. If Shippo could tell that she like Inuyasha then it must be obvious to everyone. She had to take a vacation, away from this embarrassing moment. "Shippo. I think I'm going to go home for a few days."

"Really." Shippo felt kind of bad. He didn't know that asking a simple question would make Kagome want to go home.

****

Camp

Inuyasha opened his eyes and looked around for Kagome. He was a little confused at first, wondering where she was, so he jumped out of the tree. "Kagome." He called out.

Sango sat up and looked at Inuyasha, "What do you want?"

"Where's Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, though he wasn't expecting Sango to know.

Sango looked over to her sleeping spot and saw that she was gone. Then she looked over to where Shippo had been sleeping, "She probably took Shippo somewhere." Sango replied then tried her best to go back to sleep.

Inuyasha felt really stupid about not coming to that same conclusion. And decided to go find them. He jumped from tree to tree sniffing for Kagome and Shippo while listening for the sound of their voices.

He saw them just in time to hear Shippo ask if you've given Inuyasha a kiss yet?'. Inuyasha (unlike Kagome) found it really funny . Shippo was smarter then he normally let on.

Inuyasha climbed out of the tree and walked over to where Kagome was standing to see that her face was still a little red. "Good morning." He said, still laughing a little bit.

"Morning Inuyasha." Shippo said, "Kagome's going home."

"What?" He looked from Shippo to Kagome, "Why?"

"I just want to go home."

Inuyasha was a little sad, but decided not to argue with her. It would only be for a few days. "Alright."

The three of them decided to walk back to camp. Shippo ran ahead while Kagome and Inuyasha stayed behind. "I woke up and you were gone."

"Sorry about that, did I worry you?"

"No." he lied. "I just thought you might have fallen during the night."

"That would have been impossible, you had your arms around me." Kagome said. Inuyasha laughed a little bit, he had been doing a lot of that this morning. "Oh. Inuyasha!" Kagome remembered the favor she had to ask him.

"What?"

"Will you do me a favor?"

"Umm — sure."

"I want you to teach Shippo how to fight."

"What? Why me?"

"You do a lot of fighting."

"So?"

Kagome stopped walking and grabbed Inuyasha's arm. "Please Inuyasha. He told me he just wants to be strong like us."

"I don't know." Inuyasha knew that he would agree to it, but he didn't want Kagome to tell everyone that he said yes right away. Deep down he looked at Shippo like a little brother, but he didn't want anyone, to know that.

"Please Inuyasha. You could do it as a favor to me." She looked up at him and tried to make a puppy dog face.

"Fine." Inuyasha said with a smile. "Just, don't think I never do anything for you."

****

End of Chapter Four

Sorry this chapter took so long . I'll be quicker about posting the next one.

I need some reviews to keep me motivated, so send me some. Please.


	5. Shippo's First Class

Disclaimer: I still don't own Inuyasha.

Chapter Five

Kagome smiled brightly when she woke up in her bed. The mattress seemed so comfortable compared to the cold hard ground she had been sleeping on for the past few days. The only time she recalled being completely comfortable was when she was up in the tree, and Inuyasha had his arms around her.

__

Inuyasha she thought. She wondered if he was waking up in a peaceful state of mind like she was. But most of all, she wondered if he was thinking about her, like she was thinking about him.

The sunlight had already filled Kagome's room, she had no idea what time it was. But she didn't really care. When she was in Inuyasha's time, she didn't get to sleep in much. So Kagome was very displeased to hear a knock on her door.

"What." She yelled out, but she didn't lift her head from the pillow it was on.

"Kagome," Kagome's little brother opened the door and poked his head in her room, "Mom just got done cooking breakfast. Do you want some?"

Kagome would have said no, but when the smell of eggs and bacon hit her nose, she sat up. "Sure, let me get dressed."

"Alright.". He left her room and Kagome reluctantly tossed aside her warm blankets.

__

Kagome she thought to herself_ If you don't get up now, grandpa will eat all the good food._ She had to keep telling herself that to keep her motivated about getting out of bed. She looked inside her closet and tried to pick something out to wear. It wasn't a school day so she wasn't going to wear her uniform.

Eventually she decided on a pretty abstract pink floral skirt that had two slits on the sides, it was only a little bit longer then her green school skirt. And she put on a white spaghetti strap tank top that had lace trim on the bottom and on the v-neck. She gave herself one last glance in the mirror and headed downstairs.

"Good morning." Kagome's mom said.

"Morning mom."

"You're usually gone on the weekends, why the sudden change." Her brother asked.

"Am I not allowed in my own house without an appointment?" She asked sarcastically.

"Let's just enjoy our meal." Her mother cut in.

They all ate in silence for a few minutes, then Kagome's family started asking her questions about what she had been doing in the past. She was trying to be careful with her answers, she didn't want anyone to know about all the real danger she had been in before.

"So all that for a little jewel." He brother said, a little stunned that so many people could want one thing.

"Yeah."

"Do you have it with you?" Her grandfather asked.

"I have the shards in a small jar, up in my room."

"Interesting." He mumbled to himself.

"What's interesting?" Kagome's mom asked.

"In my youth, I studied about a jewel like the one Kagome's talking about. It had all kinds of powers."

"Really? Do you know what happened to it?" Kagome asked. She was a little interested in finding out if she and Inuyasha would get all the shards.

"Nobody knows, it just vanished."

Kagome thought about it for the rest of breakfast. How could the jewel just vanish. Dose that mean that some will somehow take it from her and use it. Though she could change it. For some reason, she felt that because of that well, she had the power to change history.

"Kagome!" her brother's shouting took her out of her thoughts.

"What?"

"Are you done yet?"

Kagome looked around the table and saw that the entire thing was cleared except for her plate. "Oh, yeah." She stood up and took her plate to the sink for washing.

"Kagome?" Her brother followed her into the kitchen.

"What?"

"What do you want for your birthday?"

Kagome had completely forgotten that her birthday was coming up. "I don't know."

"Come on Kagome. I've saved up my money, so that I could get you a good gift."

"I don't know. I haven't really thought about my birthday."

"Fine." Kagome's brother walked with Kagome into the living room to watch TV with her for a little while. He didn't get to spend much time with his older sister and he wanted to make the most of this day.

"Kagome, do you want to go for a walk or something."

Kagome looked down at him, "Sure, it's a nice day, why waste it indoors."

****

Inuyasha's Time

Shippo sat under the tree that Inuyasha was sleeping in and waited patently for him to wake up. He was really happy that Inuyasha decided to teach him to fight better and he couldn't wait to start.

"Shippo, what are you waiting for?" Sango asked when she saw him sitting by the tree.

"I'm waiting for Inuyasha to wake up." Shippo said.

Sango looked up to where Inuyasha was sitting and saw that his eyes were slightly opened. "Inuyasha you ass, Shippo is waiting for you."

Inuyasha smiled a little, but didn't open his eyes all the way. _I'll get up when I good and ready._ He thought. Eventually Sango gave up and walked away.

"Inuyasha. Are you awake?" Shippo asked when Sango was gone. When Shippo didn't get an answer he climbed up the tree and stared at Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha, are you up?" Shippo asked again. When Inuyasha didn't answer again Shippo reached over and pulled up one of his eye lids.

Inuyasha's amber colored eye stared directly at Shippo, "Little brat." He mumbled.

"Come on Inuyasha, I want to learn how to fight."

"Could you wait ten more minutes?"

"No."

Inuyasha smiled, he would have said the same thing when he was a little boy. "Fine. I'll get up"

Shippo jumped out of the tree happily and got ready to start his training. "Inuyasha, what will I need?"

"Some kind of weapon." Inuyasha said to him as he got down from the tree.

Shippo looked around, he didn't have anything like that. "Don't worry," Inuyasha said "you can borrow my Tetsusaiga."

"Really!" Shippo couldn't believe what he had heard.

"Yeah, now come on, we don't have all day." Inuyasha said as he walked off with Shippo following him, trying to keep the same pace.

Sango watched them walk away. "Believe it or not, I think Inuyasha is happy about getting to teach Shippo how to fight." She said to Miroku.

"I don't know. I heard he was only doing it as a favor to Kagome."

Sango looked at Miroku. "Did you see him smile earlier, he's not doing this only as a favor to Kagome. Maybe he looks at Shippo like a little brother."

"This is Inuyasha we're talking about, right?"

Sango playfully punched Miroku in the arm. "Jerk." She said with a small laugh.

Miroku looked over at Sango, she looked really cute when she was angry, it was something that he had never noticed before. He reached over and grabbed her hand.

"Miroku, what are you doing?"

But Miroku didn't answer he just looked at her hand. It had a lot of scars on it from working hard and being in battles, yet it still looked beautiful to him. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it lightly then stood up. "Do you want to watch Shippo's first lesson with me."

Sango was speechless, wondering why Miroku had kissed her hand. "Umm — sure." She managed to say.

"Good." Miroku helped her up and they walked together in the direction that Inuyasha had left in.

****

With Inuyasha and Shippo

Inuyasha kept on walking until he found an area out in the open, with room to move around a lot. He glanced around to make sure that nobody was near then turned to Shippo. "Are you ready runt?" he asked.

"Yeah." Shippo yelled and reached for Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga.

"Hold on Shippo, not yet."

"What." Shippo was a little disappointed. He was looking forward to holding the Tetsusaiga.

"First you need to know how to fight with you hands, not some weapon."

Shippo sat on the ground and looked up at Inuyasha, "Ok, what do I do."

"You need to learn how to punch someone. Come here." Inuyasha walked to a tree that was not that far from them. He pulled his arm back, then punched it really hard. Bits of wood went flying everywhere and when the dust settled Shippo saw that Inuyasha's fist had gone right through.

"Wow." Was all he could say.

"Now you try." Inuyasha said, pulling his hand out of the tree. Shippo pulled his arm back, just like Inuyasha did and hit the tree as hard as he could.

Inuyasha had to cover his ears when Shippo let out a scream of pain. He didn't make a single dent, but his hand hurt really bad.

"Shake it off." Inuyasha said. Shippo didn't want to seem weak' in front of Inuyasha so he pretended that he wasn't hurt at all.

"Once you can, at least, crack the bark then you'll be allowed to use Tetsusaiga." Both Inuyasha and Shippo walked to the center of the field. "Now, I want you to try and touch me, on the shoulder."

"Why?"

"If you can touch me on the shoulder, you'll be faster."

Shippo stared at Inuyasha _I can do this_ he thought _I can_. He started to run toward Inuyasha. He jumped in the air and reached for his shoulder, but found nothing. Inuyasha had already moved out of the way.

"You have to be faster then that runt."

Shippo tried again, he ran as fast as his legs would go then tried to jump at Inuyasha, but once again, he had moved out of the way long before Shippo got to him.

"Don't worry, Shippo, you'll get him." Sango yelled out.

Both Shippo and Inuyasha looked up. They hadn't noticed Miroku and Sango standing there. "Tell them to go away." Shippo whispered to Inuyasha.

"Why?"

Still in a whisper "Please, I don't want them to laugh at me when I mess up."

"They won't"

"Just tell them."

"Hey!" Inuyasha yelled out to Sango and Miroku "This isn't some kind of show, get the hell out of here!"

Sango and Miroku were a little surprised, but decided not to argue. They walked away from the area where Shippo and Inuyasha were fighting and sat near the river. "That was pretty rude." Sango said when she sat down next to Miroku.

"Shippo probably didn't want us there." Miroku said

"No. It was Inuyasha who told us to leave."

"Didn't you see them. Shippo was whispering something to Inuyasha before he yelled to us."

"Why wouldn't he want us there?" Sango asked herself.

"Got me." Miroku closed his eyes and felt the sun beat down on his face.

"Umm — Miroku?" Sango stammered.

"What?"

She looked down at her hand. "Why did you do that to my hand?"

Miroku opened his eyes and looked at Sango, "Because, you're pretty and I wanted too." He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. Sango blushed and pushed him away.

"Miroku. Don't treat me like the flavor of the week." She said.

"Your not." He said and kissed her other cheek.

"Miroku stop!" Sango yelled and stood up "I'm not like those girls in town the like it when guys randomly kiss them!" And she stormed away from him.

Inuyasha and Shippo had been practicing different things for a long time. Not just trying to touch Inuyasha's shoulder, but also things like kicking stones, jumping in the air to touch a certain branch. But the one thing that Shippo thought was useless, what pushing Inuyasha's hands.

"What is that good for?" Shippo asked while he was taking a rest.

"Builds up the strength in your arms." Inuyasha replied. He wasn't tired at all but Shippo was taking deep breaths, trying to get his energy back.

"Inuyasha, I'm sorry I made Kagome leave."

"What? You didn't make her leave."

"Yes I did. I asked her a question and she got embarrassed and left."

"Yeah, that was pretty funny." Inuyasha laughed.

"I know you don't like it when she goes away, so I'm sorry."

Inuyasha looked down at Shippo, he didn't know how to respond to that. "It's ok." He said, not knowing if that was even the right answer.

"You should go see Kagome."

"She's only been gone three days."

"So, you should go see her and tell her that you don't like it when she goes away."

Inuyasha stood up. He didn't like it when Miroku and Sango would tell him what he should do when it comes to Kagome, and hearing it from a little kid didn't make him feel any better.

"Are we gonna start training again."

"Nah, that was enough for one day." He said and started to walk back to the camp, where he and Shippo came across a very angry Sango.

"What's wrong Sango." Shippo asked. Sango was bent over a carrot cutting it up for some soup. She seemed to be hitting the carrot with the knife a little harder then necessary.

She stood up. "Wrong. You want to know what's wrong." When Sango talked she would wave the knife around in the air, making them both wish that Shippo had never asked. "Men. That's what's wrong."

Shippo and Inuyasha looked at each other, not really know what to say, considering they were both men.

"They walk around thinking that a girl will just naturally fawn over him." She looked at Inuyasha with complete disgust. "If I find out you do that to Kagome, Inuyasha, I swear I'll cut off those dog ears of yours."

"Umm — come on Shippo." Inuyasha said, trying to find a reason to get away from Sango. "Your training isn't done yet." Then they both ran off.

"Where are we going?" Shippo asked.

"For one, we're getting the fuck away from Sango. And two, we're going to get Kagome."

"I'm going down the well." Shippo said with a bit of anticipation in his voice.

"No. I am. You wait here." Inuyasha said when they arrived at the well.

"Why are you getting her anyway?"

"I have a feeling, only a woman will calm Sango down."

Inuyasha jumped down the well leaving Shippo standing all alone. _Hurry up_ he thought as he watched Inuyasha disappear.

****

Kagome's Time

Kagome walked with her brother through the park, she hadn't been there in a long time and was enjoying every minute.

"Thanks for the cotton candy, Kagome."

"Anytime."

Kagome watched some birds fly across the sky for a little while till she heard some voices that sounded really familiar. She turned around and saw some of her friends from school running up to her.

"Kagome, long time no see." They said.

"Hi guys."

"Kagome we have really good news."

"What?"

"Hojo is throwing a costume party next week, you should go."

"What day."

"Next Saturday."

Kagome thought about it for a few minutes. She would be able to come back to her time before then, "Alright."

"Great, we'll tell Hojo that you're coming." They said and ran off.

"What will you dress as?" her brother asked when they were all alone.

"I don't know, but I'm sure I'll think of something by then."

They both walked a little bit longer, but then decided to go home. They got there around the same time the sun started to go down.

"I had a really good time Kagome."

"I did too."

Kagome walked into the living room and kicked off her shoes. "We're home!" Kagome yelled out to whoever was home at the time.

"It's about time you got here." Inuyasha said.

Kagome screamed a little bit when she saw Inuyasha sitting on the couch. He was the last person she expected to see. "I haven't been gone that long Inuyasha."

"I know. But we need you back at camp."

"Is someone hurt?"

"Not yet."

"What dose that mean?" Kagome asked.

"It's Sango. She's mad at men. Told me she was going to cut my ears off."

"Why is she angry?"

"I don't know."

"Fine, I'll talk to her. Just let me pack."

Inuyasha waited for Kagome in the living room. He felt a little uncomfortable being all alone with Kagome's brother, who kept staring at him.

"What do you want?" he asked finally having enough.

"Inuyasha, do you like my sister?"

Inuyasha didn't know what to say, he wasn't about to talk to a little kid about his feelings, so he just ignored him until Kagome showed up.

"Ok, let's go."

****

Inuyasha's Time

Sango continued to chop the food. Somehow it helped her control her anger. "Stupid Miroku." She mumbled to herself. She was so concentrated on cutting that she didn't even notice Kagome walking up until she tapped her on the shoulder.

"Kagome. When did you get here?"

"Inuyasha got me. He said you were in a dangers mood."

"Typical male. Afraid of a simple girl just cause she's angry."

"Sango, you told him you were going to cut his ears off."

"Only if he tried the same trick on you that Miroku tried on me."

Kagome sat down next to Sango and took the knife out of her hand. "Sango. Is there something you want to talk about?"

"It's that stupid Miroku."

"Did he do something to you?"

"Yeah. The womanizing man kissed me."

Kagome smiled, "Sango. That's not so bad. I though he tried to -"

"You're missing the point!" Sango yelled. "He thought that he could just kiss me anytime he wanted without any warning."

Kagome looked away from Kagome and up at the sky. She even caught a glimpse of Inuyasha sitting in a near by tree trying to hear what they were talking about, but Kagome gave him a look that said let us girls talk'.

After he left Kagome looked at Sango and said, "If I didn't know better. I would say you liked him."

"What! I don't!" She screamed.

"Sango there is no need to yell."

"There's lots of reason to yell," Sango said even louder "you're a bitch Kagome." And with that Sango walked off.

A few minutes later Inuyasha and Shippo showed up. "We saw Sango walking away." Shippo said

"Yeah, she still looked angry. I thought you would be able to calm her down."

"She will be." Kagome came to her own defense. "She just needs some time to cool off." Kagome finished cooking the soup that Sango had started. "Where's Miroku?" She asked as she filled up three bowls.

"I don't know." Inuyasha said, "I haven't seen him all day."

Inuyasha and Shippo ate their soup really quickly, but Kagome took her time. She wanted to enjoy her meal. "How was your fist lesson?" she asked Shippo.

"Really good. Inuyasha told me I'll be strong in no time."

Kagome looked at Inuyasha. He wasn't paying much attention to Shippo and herself, he just kept eating his soup. Then Kagome started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Inuyasha asked.

"Nothing." Kagome replied. She didn't tell Inuyasha, but she made a mental note to dress like him for the costume party. She knew where she could find a wig and dog ears she just needed to get her hands on cloths like Inuyasha's.

"Inuyasha, where do you buy your cloths?"

Inuyasha was a little confused. "Umm — a lady I know makes them for me."

"How much does it cost?"

"Not much. A few coins and one hour of manual labor."

"Do you think you could show me where the shop is."

"Sure." Inuyasha said, still a little confused. "We'll go tomorrow."

"Great."

"Any reason."

"You're a fashion setter." Kagome said sarcastically.

****

With Sango

__

Stupid Kagome Sango thought _Thinks she knows me_ "You don't know anything." Sango said out loud.

"Who doesn't know anything?"

Sango looked up and saw Miroku standing not very far from her. Normally Sango would have ripped his head off, but what Kagome said was still fresh in her head.

"Nobody." Sango said. All her anger was gone.

"Sorry I made you man earlier. I just couldn't help it." He said with a slight smile.

"Miroku. Kagome told me something that just — just sounded so — true."

"What'd she say?"

"She told me that I like you."

"As a friend?"

"More like . Infatuation."

"Really." Miroku walked a little closer to her. "No girl ever said that before."

"Miroku, I'm serious."

"So am I." He said, but before Sango could respond he lifted her chin and kissed her. Sango thought, only breafly, about pushing him away, but changed her mind. She just closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment.

****

End of Chapter Five

Did you all like it ????

In honor of this being chapter 5, I would like 5 reviews.


	6. The New Clothing

Disclaimer: I've decided to give up on my mission. I don't own Inuyasha and I never will, but I guess it's all for the best. If I owned Inuyasha I would most likely fuck up the whole show.

Chapter Six

Inuyasha jumped down from his tree and poked Kagome in the shoulder. He was trying to wake her up so they could leave early and get to the store where he got his cloths. "Kagome." He whispered. Sango and Shippo were sleeping near by and he didn't want to wake them up.

Kagome rolled over but didn't wake up, so Inuyasha tapped her again. "Kagome." He said a little bit louder, "We need to go."

Kagome opened her eyes and looked up at Inuyasha, "Go away mutt." She mumbled.

"God, you are not a good morning person." He said and lifted her onto his back.

"What are you doing Inuyasha?"

"We're going to the clothing shop."

Kagome didn't argue much, it was still early in the morning so she went right back to sleep. "Shippo." Inuyasha gently pushed Shippo with his foot.

"What." Shippo opened his eyes and sat up.

"I'm taking Kagome to the store she wanted to see. Tell that to Sango and Miroku when they wake up, alright."

"Ok."

Inuyasha turned around and started to carry the sleeping Kagome in the direction he thought the store was in. He knew that they would get there around noon, so Kagome would be wide awake by the time they got there.

He continued walking in silence for an hour until Kagome woke up. "Inuyasha, where are we?"

"We're going to the store."

"You could have woken me up."

"I did, you called me a mutt."

"I did?"

"Yes."

"Sorry."

"It's ok, you're just not a morning person, are you?"

"No, I guess not."

Inuyasha stopped walking and let Kagome climb of his back. "So why do you want to know where I get my cloths."

"I want some."

Inuyasha gave her a bewildered look. "Umm – why. You've never dressed like me before."

"It's only for one night."

Inuyasha would have pressed the issue more, but he was getting more confused every time she answered one of his questions, so he stopped asking them.

"So." Kagome eyed Inuyasha, "Do you want to tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"You never told me what you and Lei talked about."

"You."

"Yes, I know that," she rolled her eyes. "I mean, what did you talk about."

"She just had questions about you."

Kagome was thankful that she was finally getting somewhere. "Like"

"Like " Inuyasha glanced at Kagome "She wanted to know why you had the jewel around you neck."

"Is that all?" Kagome asked a little disappointed. All this time she had wondered what they had talked about, and it was nothing.

"Well, no. She also wanted to know things like, where you came from, how old you were. Things like that."

"Wow, she was getting a little personal." Kagome said.

Inuyasha laughed, "If you think those questions were personal, I don't think you want to know that last one."

Kagome looked at Inuyasha, "What was the last one?"

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"Yeah."

"She wanted to know " he hesitated " how I felt about you."

"What! Why would she want to know something like that?"

"She's always felt like she was a second mom to me. I guess all parents want to put their nose into their kids social life."

"So." Kagome looked at some of the trees of in the distance, "What did you tell her."

"Huh?"

"I bet I know what you told her. You probably told her I'm a annoying human girl who follows you around." Kagome laughed.

"I didn't tell her that!" Inuyasha said. He almost sounded hurt that Kagome would come to that conclusion.

"I was only joking Inuyasha. What did you tell her?"

"I told her " Inuyasha put his hand on the back of his neck. He still couldn't bring himself to say what he wanted. "I told her that you're a really good friend."

"A friend?"

"Yeah."

"Ok."

Kagome was a little disappointed by the word friend', but she didn't want to ruin the whole day. "Is the store much farther?"

"Umm," Inuyasha looked ahead, "It won't take too long. Do you have any money?"

"Yeah." Kagome held up a little pouch that she usually hid in her shoes. "I think I have enough." She opened it up and counted the coins, but she didn't let Inuyasha see how much she had. She didn't want to borrow money from him.

"Come on. We'll go faster if I run." Inuyasha bent down and waited for Kagome to climb on.

"I feel like I'm using you as a taxi." Kagome said as she jumped on.

"A what?"

"Taxi."

"What?"

"Nothing, just run."

****

At the Camp

"Where's Kagome and Inuyasha?" Sango asked when she was fully awake. Shippo was going through Kagome's back pack, looking for a paper and pencil to draw on. And Miroku was still asleep.

"Inuyasha took her somewhere. A clothing shop, I think."

Sango stood up and walked away from the camp site. "Where are you going?" Shippo asked.

"I'm just going to get changed." She replied without a hesitation. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Shippo continued to look through Kagome's bag until he found a pencil and a notebook. When he opened it, he expected to see blank pages, but to his surprise they were filled with little drawings of everyone.

"What are you looking at?" Miroku asked when he saw Shippo staring at a notebook.

"Kagome is a really good artist." Shippo used that statement as an answer.

Miroku sat down next to Shippo and looked at the pictures. They looked like she sat down when she was bored and drew them. There was one of Sango and Miroku talking to each other, one of Shippo playing in some tall grass, and one of Inuyasha sleeping up in a tree.

"She's really good. I wonder why she didn't tell us about these earlier." Miroku said as he turned the pages.

"Let me see." Sango said when she walked up to them. She reached down and grabbed the notebook from Shippo's hand.

"Who did these?" She asked as she looked at the pictures.

"Kagome." Shippo said.

"That would explain why there are none of her." Sango said, then she got to the last two pages in the notebook. "Oh wait, here are some."

One of the pictures was of her and Inuyasha. They were both sitting by a lake. Kagome was resting her head on Inuyasha's shoulder and Inuyasha had one arm around Kagome's waist. Deep down Sango wondered if this was something that Kagome had imagined, or if it was something that did happen.

The other picture caught Sango's attention more. It was one with Kagome and Kikyou standing next to each other. It looked like Kagome just drew herself and Kikyou so she could compare. She had also added notes like; _She's taller_ or _My bangs aren't cut as neatly_.

"I don't think we should be looking at this." Sango said and she shoved it back into Kagome's bag.

****

With Inuyasha and Kagome

Kagome was holding on to Inuyasha's back as best as she could considering the random jumps and turns that Inuyasha was making. "Warn me next time!" she yelled when he leaped over a tree.

"Don't complain, we're getting there faster aren't we?" he replied.

Kagome lowered her head and tried not to scream when he looked like he was about to run into a tree or off a cliff. "Could we just walk?" She asked.

"Fine." Inuyasha stopped running and let Kagome off his back.

"Did you grab my bag before you left?" Kagome asked once she was on her own feet.

"Do I look like I have it?"

"Oh, I hope Shippo doesn't go threw it." She muttered to herself.

"Why?"

"There's a notebook in it and I don't want anyone to see it." She said "It's just full of sketches I made."

"Why don't you want anyone to see them?"

"I don't know. I just don't like showing my art to other people."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I just don't."

"Could I see them, when we get back?"

Kagome hesitated, she knew that Inuyasha wouldn't laugh if her drawings sucked so she decided to let him look at them. "I guess so."

Inuyasha cheered up, he was actually looking forward to seeing the drawings Kagome made. He walked on with Kagome for a little while longer.

"Inuyasha." Kagome looked up at him.

"What?"

"Do you think we've found most of the jewel shards."

Inuyasha thought about it. It seemed like such a long time since Kagome broke it while trying to get it back from that bird thing. "I don't know. I think we do, you haven't sensed it nearly as often as you used too."

"You're right." Kagome looked up at the sky. It was really blue and didn't have too many clouds in it. "Do you still want to be full demon, Inuyasha?"

"What?"

"When we first met, you talked about wanting to be full demon. Do you still want that?"

Inuyasha hesitated. He part of him said yes', that way he would be really powerful. But on the other hand, something in him cried out no, not anymore.' "I don't know. I guess. If you let me use the jewel."

"I'll let you use it. But after you become a demon, I'm going back to my time."

"What? You can't."

"Yes I can. I've seen what you're like when you're a demon. I'm not sure it would be safe to stick around."

Inuyasha didn't know what to say. If he would lose Kagome once he transformed, then maybe becoming demon wasn't the best idea. "Kagome."

"What?"

"When you're here, in this time, do you miss your home."

Kagome stopped walking, Inuyasha had never asked her something that was so meaningful. "It's not my home I miss, I just miss the modern convinces like running water."

"So, I'm not keeping you from your family."

Kagome gave Inuyasha a hug a mumbled, "You're part of my family, Inuyasha." Then she let go of him and started walking.

Inuyasha followed a little bit behind Kagome. Nobody had ever told him that he was part of a family before, he liked the feeling.

"Inuyasha, are we almost there?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha pulled himself out of his thoughts. "Let me check." He jumped up into the air and looked over the trees, he was happy to see that the town wasn't very far away. "Only an hour, maybe even a little less."

"Thank god."

"Hey, I offered you a ride."

"But then I would get to talk much with you. It's not very fun talking to the back of someone's head."

It only took them half an hour to walk to the store. When they entered it a tall man immediately yelled out, "If it isn't my favorite customer, Inuyasha."

"Hi."

"Who is this pretty lady?"

"Kagome."

"Hello Kagome."

"Hello Sir."

Inuyasha laughed a little bit when she called him sir. "She's here to buy the cloths I wear."

The man looked over Kagome, making Inuyasha a little jealous "Red is not your color. I think blue or green would look better on you."

"I know, I just want the cloths for one night."

"Alright. Let me measure you." The man disappeared for a few moments and came back with measuring tape. He measured around Kagome's waist, her legs, and her arms.

"You are a lot smaller then Inuyasha. But I'm sure, our owner will be able to make something for you. How will you be paying."

Inuyasha cut in. "I'll be doing the one hour worth of work."

Kagome looked at Inuyasha, she didn't know if she should feel thankful that Inuyasha was doing this favor or angry that he didn't think she could handle the work. "Inuyasha, I -"

"I've got other business I need to do here Kagome."

"Oh, alright."

Kagome spent most of the time watching Inuyasha work. He did things like dig holes in the garden, patch holes in the roof, and move heavy boxes into the back room. She felt a little guilty, but every time she tried to help, he would just shoo her away.

Eventually the heat got to him and Inuyasha took off his shirt. Kagome tried to not watch him, but she was finding that really difficult.

Inuyasha laughed every time he looked over at Kagome. She would always turn her head and pretend that she wasn't looking at him, then she would blush. _Maybe I should put my shirt back on_ he thought, but decided to wait till his work was done.

"Inuyasha." An old lady called out, "Your hour is over." She handed Inuyasha two packages and walked back inside.

"This one is yours." Inuyasha said, handing Kagome one of the boxes.

"Thanks."

"I still don't get why you want my cloths."

"It's nothing important. What's in that one?" Kagome pointed to the one Inuyasha was holding.

"It's nothing important." Inuyasha said in the same tone that Kagome said that phrase in.

"Alright." Kagome playfully punched him in the shoulder and started to walk back to the camp Miroku, Sango, and Shippo were waiting at.

****

Camp

"I hope that Inuyasha and Kagome don't take much longer." Shippo complained. He wanted to do something other then sit around all day.

"You could always be the look out for them." Miroku said He was sitting next to Shippo when he said that.

Shippo didn't consider that fun, but it was something he could do to pass the time. He jumped up into the highest tree he could find and stared in the direction that he remembered Inuyasha leaving in.

Sango sat down next to Miroku and handed him a plate of food. "Where's Shippo?" She asked.

"Up there." Miroku pointed up in the tree that Shippo was in.

"Why is he up there?"

"He wanted something to do, so I told him that he could watch for Inuyasha and Kagome."

"I hope they hurry."

"Why?"

Sango looked up at Miroku. "What do you mean, why. I don't like it when our group is separated."

"I don't know. I thought you would be the type of person who would enjoy alone time."

"Miroku, I'm not like that at all."

They both ate their food in silence. Sango felt a little awkward around Miroku because of the kiss he gave her the other night.

"Thank you for the food Sango." Miroku said when he was done eating, then leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

"Miroku, stop."

"What's wrong Sango, you seemed to like my kisses last time."

"That was before I thought about it."

Miroku was a little confused, "Thought about what?"

"Us. Miroku you and I would never work."

"Why not?"

"First of all, you're a monk."

Miroku tilted Sango's head and looked down into her pretty brown eyes. "Sango I'm willing to give up my title."

Sango took a deep breath in. "But Miroku what about trust."

"Trust?"

"You are always flirting with other girls. How will I trust you."

"You just will." Miroku leaned down a little bit and met Sango's lips. Neither of them heard Shippo's announcement that Inuyasha and Kagome were back until Kagome tapped Sango on the shoulder.

"Did we interrupt something?" Inuyasha asked sarcastically.

"When did you get here?" Miroku asked.

"Long enough to be sick to our stomachs." Inuyasha replied. Kagome walked over to her bag and pulled out the notebook and handed it to Inuyasha.

"Here. Don't laugh."

Inuyasha sat down under a shady tree and started to look at the drawings. "I like them Kagome."

"Thanks Inuyasha." Kagome looked over the clothing they picked up at the ship. It looked just like Inuyasha's only a lot smaller.

"Why do you want that ugly thing?" Shippo asked.

"Hey!" Inuyasha yelled out.

Kagome laughed at Inuyasha's reaction. "I'm going back to my time in a few days ok."

"Why?" Sango asked.

"Same reason for getting this outfit."

"And that reason is "

Everyone was looking at Kagome, she didn't realize how interested everyone was. She was about to tell them all about the party when she was interrupted. _Kagome. Kagome come here._ She heard the voice inside her head again.

But this time she found the terrible will to stand on her feet. Once she did, she started to walk, as if following the voice.

"Kagome, where the hell are you going?"

Inuyasha's voice had snapped Kagome out of her little trance like state. "Oh, I was -" she blurted out the first thing that came to mind, "I was going to take a bath."

"I'll go with you." Sango said. She got to her feet and followed Kagome.

"So." Kagome said when she and Sango were in the water. "I guess you and Miroku are together now."

"Umm Yeah." Sango's face turned red.

"It's about time."

"What do you mean, about time'. You and Inuyasha have been making googoo eyes at each other a lot longer then me and Miroku."

"No, I'm Inuyasha's friend."

"What?"

Kagome told Sango about Inuyasha calling her his friend. "That jerk." Sango slapped the water.

"Jerk?"

"Inuyasha likes you." She said "He just can't tell you. Bastard."

"Sango, be nice." Kagome mumbled then went under the water. She swam around for a few moments the heard then voice in her head again. _Kagome_. She lifted her head out of the water. "I need to talk to Kaede." She said.

"Why?"

"I just do. We should leave tomorrow."

****

End of Chapter Six

Do you like it?

I demand 4 reviews (evil laugh)


	7. Two Kisses For Kagome

Disclaimer : I don't own Inuyasha or Lord of the Rings (I know I haven't written any fanfiction about Lord of the Ring, but one of my lines in the story sounded a lot like a line from The Two Towers.) I just wanted to be safe.

_Captured Moon : I loved your review, thanks. I did count it as two._

Chapter Seven

Kikyou smiled to herself as she sat in the dark room. She was beginning to have an affect on Kagome. At first she had trouble, all she could do was call out Kagome's name, but she actually got Kagome to walk toward the castle a little bit.

"She's being worn down, it won't take long now." She whispered into the shadows.

"Lady Kikyou, Lady Kikyou. Someone was in the castle."

"What?" Kikyou walked out of the room and into a hallway. She saw one of her servants running to reach her.

"One of the cooks found a demon walking around the castle."

"What did he look like?" Kikyou asked.

"I didn't get a good look at him, but I was told that he had black hair and a tail, like a wolf."

"A wolf? I couldn't have been Inuyasha. Find him, who knows what he heard." She said, then the servant left to find someone in the castle willing to hunt a wolf demon.

xxxxxxxx

"Why are we going to Kaede's house?" Miroku asked. They had all been walking all day and Kagome didn't go into much detail.

"Because I want to." Kagome responded.

"Don't bother arguing." Inuyasha told him. "I know from experience, we should listen to her."

Kagome smiled at Inuyasha, she didn't feel like explaining the voice in her head to anyone, not now a least.

Shippo jumped up on Inuyasha's shoulders without warning. "Hey, runt!" Inuyasha yelled, "What's the big deal?"

"I'm tired a walking."

"I don't care."

"But you give Kagome rides all the time. And I'm lighter then her."

"Shippo. I'm not so heavy." Kagome shot Shippo a mean look.

"You could stand to lose a few pounds." Inuyasha mumbled.

"Sit!" Kagome screamed. "I'm not fat."

"I was only joking." he said into the ground. Shippo started laughing as he got off of Inuyasha's shoulders.

"Ok, you don't have to give me a ride." Shippo said while trying to stop.

"Stupid runt."

"Inuyasha," Miroku bent down to his level. "Even I know, not to joke about a girl being fat."

"Fine." Inuyasha stood up and brushed some dirt off his cloths, "I'm sorry Kagome."

Sango, Miroku, and Shippo were a little stunned. Inuyasha wasn't really an I'm-sorry kind a guy.

"You're forgiven." Kagome said. "I can carry you, Shippo.". Shippo thanked her and rode on her shoulder for the rest of the day.

Kagome didn't talk a whole lot until she heard the voice, _Kagome … Kagome are you listening_. She put her hands over her ears "Yes! Will you just SHUT UP!" She yelled.

"Nobody said anything." Sango said.

Kagome stopped walking and looked at her. "What?"

"I said, nobody said anything."

"I know."

Inuyasha let out a frustrated groan. "Kagome stop acting like that."

"Like what?"

"You told us to shut up, but nobody was talking." Miroku replied.

"I — I said that out loud?" Kagome thought she only thought that.

"Yeah, you're weird Kagome." Shippo said.

"Is anything wrong?" Sango stared into Kagome's eyes, as if she was trying to see something.

"No, nothing." She broke her eye contact with Sango and looked down at her feet.

"Alright." Sango said, but Kagome could tell that she didn't believe her.

"Are we going to see Kaede or what?" Inuyasha complained.

"Yes." Kagome mumbled, then started walking again. Everyone followed her in silence for a little while. They had no idea what had just happened.

Eventually Inuyasha got tired of the silence and tried to get everyone talking again. "Kagome, what should we do for your birthday?"

"Birthday?" Miroku asked. "It's your birthday?"

"Not for a few days." Kagome responded. "Inuyasha, who told you?"

"Your brother."

"Should we have a party?" Sango asked.

"I love parties!" Shippo yelled.

"No, I don't want you guys to make a big deal out of it."

Inuyasha and Miroku rolled their eyes. "Kagome, we're not going to fall for that." Miroku said.

"Fall for what?"

"You know," Inuyasha said, "Girls say that they don't want a party, but they really do."

"I don't."

"Kagome I - " Inuyasha started to talk, but he stooped and sniffed the air.

"What's wrong Inuyasha?" Sango asked.

"Kagome do you remember when you asked me what animal was my favorite?"

"Yeah."

"I can tell you the animal I hate the most."

"Huh."

"Wolf. I hate wolfs."

Kagome was confused when Inuyasha said this, but when she sensed jewel shards she knew that it meant Kouga was around. "Kouga!" She called out.

"Why are you calling him?" Inuyasha asked.

Kagome just shot him a cold look and continued calling. "Kouga. Are you following us?"

She was answered by Kouga jumping down from one of the trees a few feet away from her. "Hello Kagome." He grabbed her hand and kissed it, causing Inuyasha to growl a little bit.

"What are you doing here?" she said, Kouga didn't let go of her hand.

"I need to talk with you, alone." He said eyeing Inuyasha.

"What do you need to talk to her about?" Inuyasha asked.

Kagome could tell that they were both ready to fight if she didn't do something. "Why do you want talk with me alone?"

Kouga turned his eyes from Inuyasha to Kagome, "Just … something." Kagome eyed him suspiciously, "Come on Kagome. I just need to talk to you."

Kagome pulled her hand away from Kouga, this made Inuyasha feel a little bit better. "Fine." She said and followed Kouga away from everyone's ear shot.

"What do you think he wants?" Sango asked after a few uncomfortably silent moments.

"He probably just wants to convince Kagome to go away with him and become his mate, or something like that." Miroku said, he sat down on the ground. Sango took the spot next to him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Inuyasha, are you ok?" Shippo asked. The others looked at Inuyasha and saw that he was truly angry. His eyes were fixed on the spot he saw Kouga and Kagome disappeared in.

"Inuyasha?" Sango called out, but he just ignored them.

"Who dose he think he is!" Inuyasha finally yelled out. "How dose he know we're not in a hurry or something!"

"Inuyasha he only wanted to -"

"What if he tries to kidnap Kagome! We wouldn't even know it until it was to late."

Sango stood up and grabbed Inuyasha's arm. "Inuyasha you need to calm down."

Inuyasha looked at her for a few seconds then pulled away. "I'm gonna follow her." He said then jumped and ran through the trees.

"He's hopeless." Miroku muttered.

xxxxx With Kagome and Kouga xxxxx

Kagome followed Kouga silently till he stopped walking and stood still. He didn't say anything for a long time, so Kagome tried to talk to him. "Kouga, I don't have all day …"

"I know, I just needed to tell you something."

"What?"

He glanced in the directions of the mountains. "There is a castle up in the mountains and - "

"I know. Inuyasha and I have already been to it."

Kouga looked at Kagome, he was a little taken back. "So, you know that a lady named Kikyou owns it."

"Yeah." Kagome said with a bit of detest in her voice.

"And you know about her calling you!"

"What?"

Kouga looked into Kagome's eyes, "I was sniffing around the castle to find out more about the woman who lives there and I heard her talking about you."

Kikyou was talking about me! Kagome thought. She knew that this couldn't be a good signal.

"She said something about making you come to her castle, or something."

"Do you know why?"

"No." Kouga blushed a little bit, but tried to hide it. "One of the servants found me and I had to run."

Kagome smiled. "The great and powerful Kouga, running away with his tail between his legs!"

"It wasn't like that Kagome!" he yelled.

"Sure. If that's all you wanted to talk to me about, I'll get back to Inuyasha." Kagome said. She started to turn and walk away form Kouga, but he grabbed her arm.

"Kagome, could I ask you something?"

Kagome heard a faint growl on the wind and looked up. In a tree not too far away sat Inuyasha. She normally would have been mad, but for some reason she didn't care. "What?" she said to Kouga, he didn't have to know that Inuyasha was there.

"I want you to know that …"

"What?"

"That I still stand by my offer."

"What offer?"

He let go of her arm and grabbed her hand. "Kagome, you could leave Inuyasha behind and come with me. Be my mate. You'll be better off." He stepped closer to Kagome and kissed her.

Inuyasha had to hold onto the branch he was sitting in to keep himself from jumping down and attacking Kouga. _Kagome_ he thought _Don't let him do that, you're mine._

It was much to Inuyasha's relief when Kagome pulled away from Kouga and slapped him hard in the face. "Kouga, what the hell do you think you're doing!" she screamed loud enough to make Inuyasha and Kouga cover their ears.

"Kagome, you should be with me."

"Why? Give me one good reason why I should go with you."

Kouga started to pace around and talk quickly. "Kagome, I'm a lot better then that Inuyasha guy you're always with."

"First of all," Kagome said with anger still in her voice, "I don't want to be with a guy who thinks he's the gods gift to women. And second," Kagome continued in a louder tone then before, "You're not half the man Inuyasha is … and you never will be!"

Kouga stared at Kagome for a few seconds then walked off mumbling something, but the only part Kagome heard was 'being around Inuyasha must have messed with her mind'.

"You can come down now Inuyasha." Kagome said when her temper had gone away.

"You knew I was here?" He said when he jumped down from the tree. 

"Yeah, I saw you a while ago."

"And you didn't say 'sit' once, I'm impressed." He laughed.

Kagome surprised Inuyasha by wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him closely. "Thank you for not attacking him Inuyasha."

"I figured you could take care of yourself. Besides I liked how that turned out. It must have hurt him when you slapped him."

Kagome pulled her arms from around his neck, Inuyasha wished she hadn't done that, he liked her hugs.

"Come on, the others will want to know where we are." They started to walk to the spot where Sango, Shippo, and Miroku where waiting.

"Kagome, you know what would make me really happy."

"What?"

"If you told me that Kouga was a really bad kisser."

Kagome put her hand up to her chin and pretended to be in deep thought. "I don't know." She said. "I don't have a lot of guys to compare him to."

Inuyasha stopped walking and put both his hands on the side of Kagome's face. He leaned down and kissed her deeply and passionately. Kagome felt his tongue slip through her lips. Their kiss broke only for air.

"Compared to that." Inuyasha said, but he didn't let go of Kagome's face.

"Compared to that, Kouga is the worst kisser in the world." Kagome said, she leaned in for another kiss, but heard the voices of Sango and Shippo talking. "We should get back." She whispered, almost hoping that Inuyasha wouldn't listen to her, but he was too nice of a guy.

"Alright." He grabbed Kagome's hand as they started to walk in the direction that the voices came from.

"Kagome, you're back." Shippo shouted when he saw Kagome and Inuyasha walking toward them.

Sango was the only one who noticed that the two of them were holding hands, but she decided not to bring it up. Not now anyway.

"What did Kouga want?" Miroku asked when they all started to walk again.

"Oh." Kagome had almost forgotten about Kouga. "He wanted to warn me about something."

"What?"

Kagome thought about it for a few moments, then decided not to tell them what he said. She didn't want them to worry, at least not until she could talk to Kaede about it. "Umm nothing important."

"If it wasn't important he wouldn't have wanted to talk to you alone." Sango said. "Unless he tried to win over your heart or something."

Kagome blushed a little bit, "Actually he did, he tried to -" she paused for a second, "Inuyasha, when did you drop in on our conversation?"

"Just in time to hear you say that he 'ran away with his tail between his legs.' " Inuyasha said, not bothering to hide his laugh.

"What was he running from?" Miroku asked. He knew that Kouga was a brave demon that normally wouldn't run away from anything.

Inuyasha looked down at Kagome and could tell that she desperately wanted the subject to be changed. "Hey Shippo, why don't show Kagome, that new move you learned." He said, in a tone that let Shippo know it wasn't a request.

"Sure." Shippo responded.

Kagome gave Inuyasha a thank you look and squeezed his hand a little bit as she watched Shippo run a few feet ahead of them.

xxxxx At Kaede's House xxxxx

Kaede sat outside her house and watched some of the children from her village run around. They were playing some kind of game that she vaguely remembered from when she was a small child.

"Lady Kaede!" One of the boys walked up to her, "Isn't that Inuyasha?"

Kaede looked in the direction that the boy was pointing. "Yes." She said. She could see Miroku and Sango walking beside Shippo and a little bit behind them, Kagome and Inuyasha were walking hand in hand while talking to each other.

Seeing Kagome and Inuyasha like that interested her, and she wondered if this meant they had finally developed feelings for each other.

"Hello Kaede." Shippo yelled out as she walked over to them.

"I wasn't expecting you back so soon." She said, it had only been a few days seine they left.

"Kagome wanted to talk to you." Sango said.

Kaede looked at Kagome who was still talking with Inuyasha, though they weren't holding hands anymore. She had a happy look on her face, but Kaede could tell that something was bothering her.

"Kagome, did you want to talk with me?"

Kagome stared at Kaede blankly for a few moments, then regained her train of thoughts, "Yes. I do. Could we talk later tonight?"

"Of course."

Everyone went into Kaede's house and sat down to discuss all the things that had happened on their journey. When dinner was given the conversation died down.

Inuyasha was the first one to finish his food and when he did he moved closer to Kagome and wrapped his arm around her waist.

"So." Kaede set her plate aside, "You and Inuyasha seem to be a bit closer now then you were a few weeks ago."

When she said that Kagome was taken of guard and she swallowed her food to quickly. She started choking and her face turned red. Everyone tried to do something to help her. Sango ran to get her some water, Inuyasha tried hitting her on the back, and Miroku laughed at the color of Kagome's face.

The first thing that Kagome did when she drank the water was hit Miroku hard on the head for laughing at her. "Jerk." She mumbled

Everyone finished up dinner then went off to bed, except for Kagome and Kaede. "What did you want to talk about child." She said when she was sure that everyone was asleep.

"Lady Kaede, there is something I need to tell you. I haven't told anyone else." 

"What?"

"I don't want you to think I'm crazy, but I've been hearing a voice in my head."

Kaede sat back, "Whose voice?"

"I'm not sure, but I think it might be Kikyou."

"What?"

"I started hearing the voice about the same time we left her castle."

"Castle? Kikyou has a castle?"

"Yeah it's somewhere in the mountains."

Kaede closed her eyes and sat silently for a few moments. Kagome couldn't tell if she asleep or just thinking. She sat back and waited for Kaede to open her eyes again when she heard the voice. _Kagome, come here._

Kagome couldn't resist it very long. She stood up and walked out the door. Kagome had no idea where she was going, she just let her feet lead her.

"Kagome?" a hand rested on Kagome's shoulder. Inuyasha had woken up when he smelt Kagome's scent as she walked out of the house. "Where are you going?"

Kagome turned and faced Inuyasha. She saw that Kaede was not far behind him. "I don't know." She replied.

Inuyasha was a little confused when she said this, but he thought she must have been tired or something. "Come on, you're going to sleep." He said and he started to pull Kagome back to Kaede's house.

Kagome looked at Kaede. "Go to sleep Kagome, I need some time to think about what you said." She nodded and walked off.

Inuyasha continued to pull Kagome until he got to the tree he had been sleeping in before. He stopped walking and grabbed Kagome around the waist.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome started to protest to the idea of sleeping in the tree.

"What?"

"N-nothing." When she looked up into his amber eyes, she remembered the way it felt when his arms were around her and she fell asleep listing to his heart beat.

Inuyasha jumped into the tree and found a comfortable stop for him and Kagome. "When are you going back to your time, Kagome?"

Kagome had her eyes closed and was already starting to fall asleep. "Tomorrow."

"Can I -"

"Can you what?" she said while yawing.

"Can I come with you?"

Kagome took a few extra seconds to answer (though it seemed like hours to Inuyasha.) "Sure." She rested her head on Inuyasha chest and fell asleep quickly.

"Good night Kagome." Inuyasha whispered. He was really happy that he would go to Kagome's time with her. Maybe he would even get the chance to tell Kagome how he felt about her. Maybe.

Inuyasha kissed her lightly on the top of the head and fell asleep.

xxxxx End of Chapter 7 xxxxx

This time I don't want any certain number of reviews. I would just like a really long one … none of those ones that are just the same word over and over again. Like : I really really really really really really really really really really like your story … I hate those.


	8. What Inuyasha Wrote In Red Ink

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. But my birthday is coming up soon (fingers crossed), here's hoping I get the rights to Inuyasha.

**Note:**I would just like to tell everyone that english is not my first lan. so I'm really sorry if some of my spelling is fucked up. I'll work harder at it.

****

Chapter 8

Kagome didn't open her eyes when she woke up. She felt the heat from the sun that told her it was morning, and the steady breath from Inuyasha told her that he was still asleep. His arms were still loosely wrapped around her, and Kagome decided that she was too comfortable to move.

But after a few moments, her foot fell asleep. Kagome (still refusing to open her eyes) tried to reposition her self. She almost succeeded, but lost her balance. Inuyasha's loose grip on her didn't help as she fell from the tree.

Kagome screamed in pain when she hit the ground, waking everyone up. Inuyasha jumped down from the tree as Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kaede ran out of the house.

They all found Kagome on the ground holding her ankle. She was crying and rocking herself back and forth.

"Kagome, what happened?" Sango asked, she got down on the ground and looked at Kagome ankle.

"I fell." She said between her tears. Inuyasha immediately felt guilty, and blamed himself for not holding her tighter.

"Inuyasha," Kaede said "Get Kagome inside, we'll have to look at her ankle."

Inuyasha gently picked up Kagome and carried her into the house, everyone followed. Kaede told gave everyone certain tasks to do. Shippo had to put Kagome's ankle on some blankets, Miroku had to get some hot water, and Sango was in charge of taking of Kagome's shoe and shock without hurting Kagome.

Inuyasha just sat next to Kagome. "I'm sorry Kagome." He mumbled. Everyone was too busy to notice what Inuyasha and Kagome were saying to each other.

"For what." Kagome had stopped crying, but she was still breathing deeply.

"For letting you fall."

"You were asleep, it wasn't your fault." Kagome wrenched as Sango removed her sock.

Kaede looked down at Kagome ankle. It was really red and swollen. "Kagome, tell me where it hurts the most." She started to put pressure on random parts of Kagome's ankle. Kagome closed her eyes and tried not to show Inuyasha how much it really hurt.

Though, when Kaede touched the spot on Kagome's ankle that hurt the most, she screamed and grabbed on to Inuyasha hand.

"Miroku," Kaede called out, "soak Kagome's foot in the hot water."

Kagome felt a little bit better when she felt the water on her ankle, but she didn't let go of Inuyasha's hand.

"Are you still going to go back to your time?" Shippo asked.

"Yeah, I could really go for some pain killers." She said.

"I could always make a tea to take the pain away." Kaede suggested.

"No." Kagome said quickly. "I would prefer some modern, 21st century, pain killers. They work the best."

Even though Kagome still planned on going to her time, she delayed the trip for a few hours. Jumping down a well didn't seem too appealing right now.

"You know." Inuyasha said, "If you were a demon, a little fall like that wouldn't have hurt you."

"Well, I'm not a demon." Kagome said, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, demons seem to be able to take more punches then humans." Miroku said.

"That's cause demons are better." Shippo piped up.

"Damn right." Inuyasha laughed.

"Humans may not be as powerful as demons." Kagome said, "but at least humans will be around in a thousand years."

"Aren't there any demons in your time?" Sango asked.

"No."

Inuyasha and Shippo stared at Kagome in a very dumb founded way. "W-what happened to them all?" Shippo finally asked.

"I don't know."

Inuyasha felt better now because he knew that Kagome would alright. "I'll be right back." He said when he stood up.

"Where are you going? We should be leaving soon."

"I know." He replied, "I just made a promise that I need to fill out. We'll go as soon as I get back."

"What promise?" Kagome asked, but he already walked out. She let out a frustrated groan.

"Wow Kagome, you're a really nice person." Sango said. "If I were you, I'd go after him."

"I can't really do that." Kagome said sarcastically pointing to her ankle. Luckily Inuyasha wasn't gone very long.

"Are you ready Kagome?" he asked as soon as he returned.

Kagome stood up and tried to put some pressure on her hurt ankle. She wrenched, but it wasn't as bad as it had been earlier.

She started to hop/walk to the door, but Inuyasha picked her up. "You shouldn't walk on that Kagome."

Kagome let herself be carried for a while till she remembered that she had left her bag at the house. "Inuyasha, could you get my bag for me?" she asked while giving him puppy dog eyes.

"Sure." He could never resist Kagome when she looked like that. He set her down and told her to wait there while he was gone.

"Back so soon Inuyasha?" Kaede asked when he showed up.

"No," he replied "Kagome forgot her bag." He saw it sitting at the end of the room, but when he got to it he didn't pick it up. He sat down and started to look threw it.

"What are you doing?" Sango asked him.

"Nothing. Just making a small adjustment to something.". He took out the notebook and turned to the page he had noticed the other day. The one with Kagome and Kikyou on it. Then Inuyasha took out a red pen and wrote something at the top of it.

After he finished he stuffed everything back into the bag and took it to Kagome.

****

xxxxx

Kagome watched Inuyasha walk away as she sat in the tall grass. It was a really warm day and she could feel the sun beating down on her skin. She took in a deep breath and laid down.

She closed her eyes and listened for the sound of Inuyasha's foot steps. After a while her mind began to wander and she thought about the way Inuyasha had kissed her.

His kiss was so different form Kouga's. When Kouga kissed her it felt like he was claiming his property, or something like that. But Inuyasha's was full of passion and love, maybe even (she giggled to herself) a little bit of lust.

"Come on Kagome." She heard Inuyasha talking.

She opened her eyes and looked up at him. "I didn't hear you coming." She mumbled as she sat up.

Inuyasha bent down and picked her up. He had Kagome's bag over his shoulder. "I could have carried that." Kagome said.

"What's the point, I'd be caring you."

Kagome snuggled her head on Inuyasha's neck. _He smells so good_ she thought. Inuyasha's scent reminded her of grass just after it rains.

She started to take deeper breaths in until Inuyasha said, "What are you doing?"

"I'm just smelling you."

Inuyasha lifted his one and only free hand to his nose, "I don't smell anything."

"Of course you don't, but I do."

"What do I smell like?"

"Like grass just after it rains."

"Oh." Inuyasha didn't know if that was a complement or and insult.

"What do I smell like." Kagome lifted up her hand to Inuyasha's nose.

"Wild flowers." He said without hesitation and without even smelling Kagome's hand. "We're here."

Kagome lifted up her head and was a little disappointed to see that they were already at the well. She crawled out of Inuyasha's arms and limped over to it. "See you on the other side." She said just before jumping down.

Kouga sat back in the tree he was in and watched Inuyasha jump down the well. He was so angry at the way Inuyasha looked at Kagome. _He seems to think he can take Kagome away from me._ He thought.

He jumped down from the tree and walked to the well, excepting to see Inuyasha and Kagome at the bottom of it. He was shocked when he noticed that it was empty. "Where did they go?" he asked himself out loud.

Kouga was so lost in his thoughts, trying to figure out where Kagome and Inuyasha went, that he didn't notice an arrow flying through the air.

****

xxxxx

Miroku sat down on the ground outside Kaede's house. "I wonder what Inuyasha wrote in Kagome's notebook." He said when Sango joined him.

"I don't know." She sat down next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. "Where did Shippo go?"

"I think he went to practice the moves that Inuyasha taught him." he wrapped his arm around Sango's waist, "Do you want to go for a walk? I have something I want to show you."

Sango thought about it for a few moments, "Sure."

Miroku stood up and help Sango to her feet. He held onto her hand and led her into the woods. It was in the opposite direction that the well was in, so Sango didn't have much of an idea where he was taking her.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"Just wait. It's a surprise."

Sango stared up at Miroku. He seemed to know where he was going so she didn't worry and let him lead the way.

****

xxxxx

Shippo jumped into the air and ran around as fast as he could. When Inuyasha got back, he wanted to be able to show him that he improved. He grumbled to himself because he had the sneaking feeling that he wasn't making any progress.

He stopped moving to take a breath and looked at a near by tree. He remembered what Inuyasha said about making a dent and decided to try hitting the tree.

Shippo lined himself up and pulled his arm way back and hit the tree as hard as he could. A sharp pain shot through his hand, and he didn't make a difference in the trunk one little bit.

He let out a scream when he tried to take his hand out of the fist. His knuckles weren't broken, but they sure hurt like hell.

It wasn't for a few moments that Shippo noticed that he wasn't the only one screaming. Off in the distance he could hear the scream of a male voice. He starting running in the direction that the sound came from and hoped it wasn't Inuyasha or Miroku.

When he got to an opening he noticed that he was near the well. At first he had no idea who made the scream until he noticed someone laying by the well.

On closer inspection, Shippo noticed that it was Kouga. He carefully walked over to him and saw that he had four arrows in his back. "Kouga. Are you alright?"

Shippo lowered his head onto Kouga's chest to listen for a heart beat, but heard nothing. _He's dead_ Shippo thought. _I need to get Kaede._

He ran as fast as he could to the village and yelled out for Kaede. She was sitting in her yard washing some clothing. "Kaede Kaede." Shippo walked up to her. "You need to come help. I found Kouga."

"Kouga?"

"He's dead Lady Kaede. What should we do?"

Kaede told Shippo to wait inside her house while she got some men who would be willing to dig a hole to bury Kouga in. After they were assembled Kaede had Shippo show her where Kouga was.

It didn't take as long as Shippo thought it would. With five people digging, the hole was made really quickly. Kaede and Shippo were the ones that covered him with dirt then Kaede whispered a prayer.

"I wonder what he was doing when he was killed?" Kaede said later on, half to herself.

"What do you mean."

Kaede looked at the four arrows and the two jewel shards sitting in the corner of the room. "Someone killed him. I was just wondering who would have done it."

"Maybe Kagome." Shippo said. He knew that Kagome used arrows, and his body was found near the well.

"Those aren't Kagome's arrows. I've never seen them before in my life."

Shippo moved from his spot to the door and waited for Miroku and Sango to come back. He would feel a lot safer if they were around.

****

xxxxx

Miroku covered Sango's eyes with his hands. "Miroku, what are you doing?" she asked.

"We're almost there. Just a few more feet."

Sango walked as best she could, blind, and guided only by Miroku's hand. "Ok," he whispered into her ear. "You can look now." He lifted his hand away from her face.

When she opened her eyes Sango gasped. Miroku had taken her to a spot in the woods she had never seen before, but it was so beautiful. The trees parted and made a little area in the grass that Miroku used to set out a lunch for the two of them.

There was a blanket on the ground that had all kinds of food on it. And candles were set in random places. Sango felt like she was in her own little world with Miroku.

"Come on. The food is really good."

"How did you do this?" Sango asked as she and Miroku sat down.

"Inuyasha set it up for me."

"Is that the promise he was talking about."

"Yeah. I'm surprised he did such a good job." Miroku said. He handed Sango a plate, "Try this."

Sango ate the food and drank some of the wine that Miroku gave her. When everything was gone she let Miroku wrap his arms around her.

"Sango, how long have we know each other?"

Sango closed her eyes and thought back. "I don't know. A long time." Miroku moved her hair away from her neck and started to kiss along it. Sango loved the way it felt.   
  
Miroku lifted his head back up and looked down at Sango. "No. Don't stop. That felt good." She said.

Miroku lauged, "I need to tell you something Sango."

"What?"

He sat back a little and tried to find the best way to tell Sango what he wanted. "Sango, when I first met you I could tell you weren't like the other women I've been attracted to."

Sango frowned a little bit _Why'd he have to bring other women into this_.

"You are beautiful, but you're also smart. You aren't afraid to say what you want, and your not helpless. I've never seen a girl fight like you do."

"Most men turn away when they find someone like that." Sango responded. She thought about when she was younger. Her father had worried that she would never find a husband, because everyone one wanted a wife that was timid and shy.

"Not me. Sango," Miroku tilted Sango's face so that she was looking right into his eyes. "I'm in love with you."

Sango closed her eyes and let those words linger in her head. They sounded so right. She moved out of Miroku's arms and straddled his lap. "Miroku, I love you too." She kissed him deeply.

"What happened to the infatuation." He laughed when she took a breath of air.

"I lied." She responded then went in for another kiss.

"Wait." Miroku, put his hand up to stop her. "That was what I was waiting for."

"Huh."

Miroku gently pushed Sango off his lap. She sat in front of him with a look of wonder of her face. "Sango. After we've found the full jewel, will you be my wife?"

Sango stared at Miroku (trying to figure out if he was joking or not) for a few seconds. To Miroku it seemed a lot longer and he was almost sure that she was going to say no'

"Y-yes!" Sango practically screamed and jumped on Miroku. He was taken off guard and fell to the ground. Sango stayed on top of him kissing his cheeks, nose, lips, forehead, anyplace she could think of.

"Sango, I can breathe." Miroku managed to gasp.

"Sorry." She said and started to get off of Miroku.

"It's ok." Miroku kissed her then stood up. "Come on, we should get back to Kaede's house."

"Can I tell Kagome the good news?" Sango asked hopefully, "When she gets back."

"Sure." Miroku put his hand around her waist as they both started to walk.

"What about all this stuff?"

"I'll take care of it later." Miroku said. He wanted to enjoy this walk with Sango.

****

xxxxx

Kagome turned off the hot water coming from her shower head. She had been wanting to take a really hot shower for a long time, to her there was nothing more relaxing.

After wrapping a robe around herself and stepped into the hallway. She saw that her bedroom door was opened and walked to it. Inuyasha was sitting in her opened window looking out.

He sniffed the air and turned around. "Kagome?"

"Hi." She could tell by the look on his face that he was tired, probably stayed up waiting for her to finish her shower.

Inuyasha tried not to make it look like he was staring at Kagome. She looked really seductive in her small robe with her wet hair on her shoulders.

"You look tired." Kagome said, shaking him out of his thoughts.

"Oh." He rubbed his eyes a little bit "Yeah."

Kagome walked over to her dresser and pulled out some pajamas. "I'll be right back, I'm gonna change." She told him as she walked out of the room.

She went back to the bathroom and slipped her pajamas on. Usually she would change in her room, but she didn't have the heart to kick Inuyasha out. When she came back into her room Inuyasha was on her bed.

He wasn't under the covers, it looked like he was curious about what a mattress felt like then fell asleep. Kagome looked down at the sleeping Inuyasha. He looked really cute and she had to draw him.

She reached inside her back pack and pulled out her notebook. She got to the last page and was disappointed when she remembered that she already used it. It was the drawing she used to compare herself to Kikyou.

Kagome stared at it for a few minutes until she noticed something that she didn't put there. Up at the top of it was red ink. Kagome looked at it closer and saw that Inuyasha had written something. It said _Inuyasha's in love with Kagome, not Kikyou._

She smiled and looked back at the sleeping Inuyasha on her bed. "Inuyasha." She whispered when set the notebook down and crawled into the bed next to him. "Kagome's in love with Inuyasha too."

****

xxxxx

That's the end of chapter 8. I think out of all the chapters this one was the worst. I didn't want Miroku to ask Sango to marry him in my story, but everything took on a life of its own. Now I feel really stupid. I don't care how many reviews I get. Send me as many as you think I should get.

xoxoxo

p.s. I didn't know what to make Inuyasha smell like, but I love the smell of our lawn after it rains. That's why I said Kagome likes it. Sorry if that's not true.


	9. A Day Full Of Shopping

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

Apology: I would like to say sorry. When I wrote chapter eight I was in a really bad mood and I think you can tell by my writing. Kagome gets hurt and I even kill of Kouga, plus on top of all that I didn't even make it as long as I should have. When I wrote that chapter I was stressed from school and work, I was sick, and Sara was being a bitch. So I'm really sorry. I hope y'all can forgive me.

Cindy : I'm glad you started reading my story. Your review made me feel loved : )

A lot of people have expressed their anger at Kouga's death, but I just wanted to tell everyone who is upset to wait ... he still has an important role to play in my story.

****

Chapter Nine

Kikyou stared at the plate full of food that was in front of her. It looked very appetizing, but she was too upset to eat. She had tried calling Kagome last night and for some reason couldn't. It was as if Kagome had disappeared.

"I'm sorry to bother you." The cook walked into the room. "But is there something wrong with the food."

Kikyou looked up at him, "No, nothing. I'm just not hungry." She pushed her food away and walked away from the table.

"Lady Kikyou." A servant walked into the room and bowed. "I have news that will cheer you up."

"What is it?"

"I was able to kill the demon you sent me after."

Kikyou smiled. That did make her feel better, at least something was going right. She turned to the cook who had started to clear her spot. "Never mind, I think I will have that food." She said.

**xxxxx**

Inuyasha woke up in the morning and felt something heavy on his chest. He sat up an inch or so to see what it was, Kagome's head. He decided that she deserved to sleep in, so he tried not to wake her up.

Kagome only stayed sleeping for fifteen minutes longer then Inuyasha. She turned her head to the side so she was facing him. "Wasn't your pillow good enough for you?" he asked with a bit of sarcasm.

"I like hearing the sound of your heart beat." She closed her eyes and listened to it for a few more minutes then pushed herself up.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to go to school today." Kagome said, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"How dose your ankle feel?"

Kagome looked down at it. She hadn't tried to put any pressure on it recently, so she carefully got out of bed. When she stood up a minor pain shot through her leg. It was getting better but it still hurt.

"See. You shouldn't go to school today." Inuyasha said. He didn't want Kagome going to school, he wanted to spend the day with her instead.

"Sorry Inu, but I don't have much of a choice." She limped over to her dresser that had a bottle of Advil on it and took some.

"Is that the 21st century pain killers you were talking about."

"One kind."

"There's more?"

"Yeah, lots. Now get out I need to change."

Inuyasha left the room, but he took as much time as he possible could. Kagome had to push him out during the last few feet from her door ( he was moving as slow as a snail.)

The door hit the back of his head a little bit, but he didn't care. "Good morning Inuyasha." Kagome's little brother walked out from his bedroom. "Is Kagome awake?"

"Umm, yeah."

"Good. Do you want to eat breakfast? My mom cooks the best stuff."

"Sure." Inuyasha followed him down to the kitchen. When he got there he was greeted by the wonderful smell of a homecooked meal and Kagome's mom.

"Good morning Inuyasha."

"Good morning." He wasn't used to eating at Kagome's house, so he didn't know where to go or what to say, so he made the safe choice of standing in the corner and waiting for Kagome to come in.

Kagome walked into the room and sat down in the chair she usually used. "You can sit here." She patted the chair next to her.

Inuyasha's face slammed into the tile floor. Everyone in the kitchen went silent. They had no idea what happened.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry Inuyasha. It slipped out." Kagome jumped out of her seat and helped Inuyasha up.

"Kagome, what just happened?" Her grandfather asked.

"Every time I say -"

Inuyasha covered her mouth before she could say sit again. "Every time she says sit' I crash into the ground."

"Is that possible?" Kagome's mom asked.

Inuyasha and Kagome both sat down at the table. "Yeah." Inuyasha mumbled "Because of these stupid beads."

"Beads?"

Inuyasha started to eat the food that was set before him as Kagome told them the long story about the magical bead and how they ended up on him.

Kagome's grandfather took great interest in the beads. He reached across the table and grabbed them so he could have a closer look, causing Inuyasha to lean forward, practically into his food.

"Father." Kagome's mom said in a harsh tone, "It's rude to do that while he is eating."

Kagome stood up from the table and walked into the living room, she had to find her backpack. "Mom, have you seen my backpack?" she yelled out.

"It should be by the front door." Her mom walked into the room. They both headed for the front door, but it wasn't there.

"Well, I don't know where it could be." He mom said. "I saw it last night."

Kagome thought about it for a second than realized what happened. "Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed out.

In the kitchen all three of the men looked in the direction the scream came from. _Shit_ Inuyasha thought_ she knows I took her backpack_.

Kagome stormed into the kitchen, "Inuyasha where is my backpack?" her tone told everyone that she was willing to kill anyone who made her mad.

Inuyasha folded up his arms and closed his eyes. "I don't know. Maybe you lost it." Kagome's brother decided then that Inuyasha was the bravest person he had ever met.

"Inuyasha." Kagome grabbed his arm and pulled him to the front door. "It was right there last night."

"I have no idea where it is."

Kagome put her hands on her hips, "Listen. I know you took it, if you don't tell me where it is I'll activate those beads and make your face slam into the ground once for every year you're older than me."

"That's only 3 or 4 times. I can take that."

"Plus the 50 years you were under that spell."

Inuyasha had forgotten about that. "S-so, I could still take it."

"Plus the 1000 or so years between the time you were born and I was born."

Inuyasha's eyes got really big, he didn't think his skull would survive such a beating. "Fine." He had hoped that if Kagome didn't find her backpack she wouldn't go to school. "Promise you won't say sit."

"Yes."

"It's on the roof."

Kagome made fist with her hands and tried to hold herself to the promise she made with Inuyasha. "How am I going to get it down?"

"I'll get it." Inuyasha walked outside with his ears down. It only took him a few minutes to jump up on the roof and grab her backpack.

"Thanks." She said when he handed it to her. "I'm going to school now, alright."

Inuyasha whimpered a little bit so Kagome stood on her tip toes and kissed him on the cheek. "Don't worry, just find something to keep yourself busy." She turned and started to walk quickly down to the street.

Inuyasha sat down and tried to think of something he could do to pass the time, like Kagome said. But he couldn't think of anything. He wasn't used to this time or any of the activities in it.

"Hey, Inuyasha. Do you want to play a video game?"

Her turned around and looked at Kagome's brother who was standing in the doorway. "Don't you have to go to school?"

"Not for another hour."

"What's a video game?"

"Come on, I'll show you." Souta lead Inuyasha through the house and into the game room.

An hour later when it was time for Souta to go to school Inuyasha had lost 57 games. "I can hold my ground when it comes to demons, but I can't win a stupid video game." He complained.

"Don't worry, Kagome isn't all that good at it either. Of course, she wins once and a while."

"Souta. It's time for school. Get in the car." Kagome's mom said. Souta ran out of the room leaving Inuyasha to grumble over his dead man.

"Inuyasha. Why don't you come with me."

"Where are you going?"

She grabbed her purse that was sitting in the corner of the room. "I was going to go shopping for Kagome's birthday. Plus I need to pick up some stuff for dinner."

Inuyasha got to his feet. "Sure." It was something Inuyasha could do to take up time.

From the moment Kagome's mom started the car she knew it wasn't going to be an easy day. It took Inuyasha, with Souta's help, forever to put the seat belt on. Then when the engine roared he freaked out.

"Calm down Inuyasha. It's just the car."

The first stop was Souta's school. Inuyasha looked out the window at all the kids running around. "Buy Inuyasha!" he yelled out as he ran off to class. Inuyasha gave a little wave, but he was looking at the building.

"How is it possible to build something something so big?" he asked as they started to drive away.

"Technology has come a long way Inuyasha." She shook her head "You and Kagome should go to an amusement park or a movie tonight. You would probably enjoy it."

Inuyasha stared at Kagome's mom. "You look like her."

"What?"

"You and Kagome look alike. She has your nose and your eyes."

"You're the first person to say that. Kagome didn't get many of her looks from me or her father. I don't know who she looks like."

"Kikyou." Inuyasha responded.

"Who is Kikyou?"

"Kagome is Kikyou's reincarnation. She's almost identical to her, except for her nose and eyes."

"Reincarnation?" her mom laughed.

"Yeah." Inuyasha turned his head toward the window and looked out. "Kagome is prettier though."

Kagome's mom glanced at Inuyasha. _He likes her_ she concluded _How sweet_.

It only took them a few moments to reach the mall. Inuyasha followed Kagome's mom through the first store. I was full of all kinds of clothing. He was astounded at all the different designs and wondered how it was possible to make them.

"What are we getting here?" he asked.

"This stop is for you."

"Me?"

"We need to get you a hat." She walked to the very back of the store that had thousands of hats hanging on the wall. "Which one do you like?"

Inuyasha stared up at the wall of hats, "Why do I need a hat?"

"To cover up you ears."

He reached up and picked a red one. "I guess this one."

"Alright." She took the hat from Inuyasha's hand and took it to the register and paid. "Lets go shopping for Kagome now."

Inuyasha put the hat on and followed her through the rest of the mall. He held his nose when they walked into a perfume store. All the different smells made him sneeze. "Do you think she'll like this one?" Kagome's mom asked.

"I don't know. Maybe."

She looked at Inuyasha. "Do you know what her favorite scent is?"

Inuyasha, still holding his nose, thought back to the other day. "She likes the smell of your lawn just after in rains."

"I don't think they have that one."

"Umm, what about wild flowers."

Kagome's mom looked around for a few moments. "Yes, they have that one." She grabbed a bottle off one of the shelves and looked at Inuyasha. She noticed that he looked really uncomfortable. "Inuyasha, are you alright?"

"Just — can't — breath." He had to talk between the breaths he was taking threw his mouth.

"Oh, you poor thing, your nose is probably killing you." Inuyasha nodded. "I'll pay for this then we'll go."

Once they were out of the shop Inuyasha gasped for fresh air. That was the worst bad smell experience in his life. He never wanted to go into another perfume shop as long as he lived.

Kagome's mom patted his back as he was bent over, trying to take in all the clean, perfumeless, air he could. "Are you alright? Do you need to sit down?"

"No. I'm alright." He stood up once he caught his breath.

"What do you want to give Kagome?"

"I already got her a gift."

"When?"

Inuyasha counted on his fingers. "I think 3 days ago."

"Oh, well if you see something else you'd like to give her tell me, ok."

"Ok."

They stopped in several different stores. One that they bought CDs in, one that they bought movies in, and one that had jeans in. "I think she would prefer these to the school uniform she wears to your time." Her mother said.

Inuyasha insisted on holding everything while she shopped. _Might as well be useful_ he thought to himself.

The last place they went was a jewelry shop. Kagome's mom picked out different necklaces and bracelets while Inuyasha looked at some of their other things. His attention was caught when he saw a ring under the glass case.

It was gold with a diamond in the middle of it. On either side of the diamond were two emerald stone. Inuyasha thought the whole thing was beautiful.

"What are you looking at?" her mom walked up behind him.

"That." Inuyasha pointed to the ring.

"That's beautiful. You have a good eye Inuyasha." She waved down a person that worked there. After she was done paying for it she handed it to him "You could give her that along with the other gift you picked."

"Thank you Miss. Higurashi."

"Anytime." She looked at her watch. "Kagome should be getting home from school soon. Lets get something for dinner then go home."

Inuyasha put all the gifts in the back of the van then went to the passenger seat.

"Is there anything in particular you would like for dinner Inuyasha?"

"Ramen."

"Ramen, is that all?"

"Yeah, ramen."

When they were in the store Kagome's mom grabbed random things of the shelf. Inuyasha had a fun time trying the free samples. And when she put a gigantic box full of ramen packages in the cart his face lit up like a child in a candy shop.

"You really like ramen." She said.

"Yeah. But this stuff isn't bad either." He held up one of the samples a lady handed him. "I think it's called frozen pieesa."

"Pizza."

"What?"

"Its called frozen pizza."

"Oh."

"Come on, let's go."

When they got back to the house Kagome's mom started cooking dinner while Inuyasha hid the gifts in her closet. He put the ring in his pocket then decided to go to Kagome's room.

He liked being in her room, it was filled with her scent. He looked at the bottle of Advil on her dresser and wondered if it really worked. Sometimes all the gadgets that Kagome had from her time didn't last as long as he assumed they would.

He moved from her dresser to the desk she had near the window. There was a text book that she didn't take to school with her, it said Biology on it. _What the hell is Biology _he thought.

Eventually he decided that whatever Biology meant, it wasn't important. He opened one of the drawers and saw a little brown book. It didn't have a title on it, so he grew very curious.

Inuyasha reached down and grabbed it. When he opened it he was surprised to see the whole thing was filled with Kagome's hand writing. She had written letters to someone named Diary'.

He was about to open it and read it, but he heard the voices of Souta and Kagome down in the living room. He tossed the book back in and ran as fast as he could down the steps.

"Kagome?" He walked into the living room.

"Hi Inuyasha. Were you bored?"

"No, I went with you mom."

"Where?"

"Shopping."

Souta tugged on Kagome's sleeve. "Guess how many times I beat Inuyasha in our game."

"How many?"

"57"

Kagome bent over with laughter as Inuyasha scowled. "It's not that funny." He complained.

"What's going on in here?" Kagome's mom walked into the room.

"Nothing." Souta said.

"Souta, is your homework done?"

"No."

"Well," she said in a stern by still kind voice. "I guess that means you're going to do it then."

"Yeah." He took his school books and disappeared to his room.

"What about you Kagome, do you have homework?".

Kagome, who was still holding her sides, shook her head. "No mom."

"Alright then. Dinner will be ready in an hour." She walked out of the room and back into the kitchen.

When she was gone Inuyasha sat down on the couch and waited for Kagome to stop laughing, which took longer then he thought. "Thanks Inuyasha, I needed a good laugh."

"Glad to help." He said sarcastically.

Kagome walked over to the couch and sat down next to Inuyasha. She kicked off her shoes and turned the TV on. She rested her head on his shoulder and watched the news till her mother came in and told them it was dinner time.

Inuyasha was really happy to see a big bowl of Ramen sitting in his spot.

"Kagome. I was thinking " her mother said halfway through the meal " I think Inuyasha would enjoy a trip to the amusement park tonight."

Kagome looked at Inuyasha, he hadn't paid attention to anything they said. "Sure." She reached over and scratched Inuyasha behind the ears. "Sounds like fun."

"What sounds like fun?" Inuyasha like the way it felt when she did that.

"We'll leave after dinner." She told her mom

"Sounds good."

Inuyasha helped Kagome's mom clear the table when the phone rang. Souta raced with Kagome and ended up reaching it first. "It's not like any cute girls will be calling you soon."

Kagome walked over and helped her mom clean the dishes until Souta said "It's for you Kagome."

She stuck her tongue out at him after grabbing the phone. "Hello? Oh, hi Hojo."

Inuyasha stop cleaning and listened to what Kagome was saying. It was bad enough knowing Kouga liked Kagome, he didn't want to have to deal with another guy.

"Sorry, I already have a date for tonight. Yeah. Bye." She hung up the phone. "That man never gives up."

"Who's Hojo?" Inuyasha asked.

"Just a guy from school." She remembered how jealous Inuyasha could get.

"What did he want?"

"He wanted to take me to the movies tonight." Inuyasha looked down at his feet.

"Don't worry," Kagome said. "I turned him down so I could be with you."

That news did make him feel a little better. When everything was done Kagome took a little more Advil, for her ankle, and left with Inuyasha.

"Kagome, what's a date?" Inuyasha asked as they walked down a side walk to the park.

Kagome tried to think of the best way to explain it to him. "When two people like each other, the go on a date. To the movies, or to dinner, or to an amusement park."

"So we're going on a date."

"I guess so."

Inuyasha put his arm around Kagome's waist as they were walking and decided that tonight would be the night he told her in person that he loved her.

****

xxxxx

How do you guys like this chapter . I'm feeling really blue right now, so I need a lot of reviews to make me feel better.

****

p.s. Someone asked me (in a review) how Kikyou got a castle. I just wanted to let you know that it will be explained in later chapters.


	10. A Night Of Love And Lust

Disclaimer : I don't own Inuyasha.

Captured Moon : Oh my god! Are you serious? I knew that she consumed dead souls, but I didn't think that it was the only thing she ate. Sorry. I'll have to find a way to work it into my story. I like you when you're crazy.

Stella: Sorry, but that's not how, but I do like your guess.

Inufreak831: You're the only one who noticed that. In my story, I made Kagome's mom really rich.

****

Note: I'm so sorry that it too me a long time to write this chapter. I've been really sick lately. I hate being sick. I hope you guys don't catch my germs by reading this story.

****

Chapter Ten

Sango stared down the well and wondered when Kagome and Inuyasha were coming back. She almost wished that she could travel through the well herself. Not only to get to Kagome, but also to see what her world was like.

She had often fantasized about what Kagome's world was like. She wanted to know what running water felt like. Or to see the thing Kagome called electricity'.

"Hi Sango." Shippo came running to her side while she was thinking.

"Hi Shippo. Where's Miroku?"

"I don't know." Shippo looked down the well like Sango was doing "I don't think she'll be coming back any time soon."

"Why?"

"It looked like something has been bothering her lately."

Sango thought about it. It did seem like Kagome was upset. She thought it had just been the ankle thing, but now she realized that Kagome had been acting a little weird seine Inuyasha got them out of Kikyou's castle.

Miroku walked over to where Sango and Shippo were sitting. He kissed Sango on the cheek then turned to Shippo. "Kaede told me that Kouga is dead."

"Yeah."

"I need you to show me where his grave is."

"Why?"

"To bless it."

Shippo had Sango and Miroku follow him to the spot in the woods that Kouga was buried. "I wonder how Kagome will take this." Sango said, she was holding Miroku's hand.

"I'm sure Inuyasha will be relieved. That's one less guy in the world he needs to compete with."

"Inuyasha really doesn't have to compete with anyone. They're both crazy about each other, they just won't admit it."

"Hey, it's not easy telling someone you love them."

"It wasn't hard for you."

"Yeah it was. I was nervous as hell."

"Really? You didn't show it."

"Hey lovebirds." Shippo called out. "This is the spot, but something is wrong with it."

"What?"

Sango and Miroku both walked to the spot that Shippo was at and just saw a hole in the ground. "I thought you buried Kouga here."

"We did."

"Then what happened to the body?" Miroku stared down the deep dirt hole.

Sango thought back to when everyone thought she had died because her brother stabbed her in the back. "Maybe he wasn't dead."

"But I didn't hear any heart beat when I checked him." Shippo said. "Do you think he's a zombie."

"No." Sango laughed at the imagination Shippo had. "I was mistaken for dead once, maybe you made that same mistake on Kouga."

"I'll tell Kaede that Kouga is still alive." Miroku said, then he walked off leaving Shippo and Sango alone.

"I feel so stupid." Shippo said once Miroku was gone.

"Don't." She picked him up and started to walk back to Kaede's house.

"But Kouga was still alive, when all he needed was help."

"I'm sure it was an honest mistake."

Shippo relaxed in Sango's arms, he was glad that he was still small enough to be carried when he was tired. "Sango. I want to get Kagome something for her birthday. But I don't know what she likes."

"She'll like anything you get her. Trust me."

"I could get her something to cover her ears with."

"What? Why would she need that?"

"So that she can cover her ears when Inuyasha is annoying her."

Sango laughed. "I know she'll like that."

"Of course she might just end up wearing them all the time."

Sango laughed even harder, "Your smarter then you look."

Kouga sat some distance away watching Sango and Shippo. _That's the little boy_ he thought_ the little boy who thought I was dead._ Kouga had really been awake when Shippo found him, but he didn't have the energy to do anything.

Now he sat in the shadows barely able to stand up and both his jewel shards were gone. If he could he would have jumped out and attacked Sango and Shippo (for revenge) but he couldn't.

One reason was because he lacked the ability, but mainly he knew that Kagome would never forgive him if he hurt that little boy. He just needed some way to get the jewels back.

****

xxxxx

Kagome enjoyed watching Inuyasha in the amusement park. He had never seen so many lights or rides before in his life. He kept staring at the different things. Kagome had to hold her sides from laughing so much at how loud Inuyasha screamed on the rollercoaster. He could look death in the face, but lost his cool when they went threw a loop.

"Inuyasha would you like to play a game or something?"

"What kind of game?"

Kagome suggested a game that she always thought was fun. The one where you hit something with a hammer and see if you can ring the bell. Inuyasha was able to win it without any trouble and he won Kagome a large stuffed kitten.

"Thanks Inu."

"Anytime." He said with lots of pride.

A man walking by was selling cotton candy, so Kagome bought some. "Do you want some?" She asked him.

"What is it?"

"Cotton candy."

Inuyasha grabbed a small bit of Kagome's candy and tried to think of some reason why people in her time would eat pink cotton.

"It's not real cotton." Kagome said when she saw the confused look on his face, "You'll like it."

With a cautious attitude he placed the piece of cotton candy in his mouth. A great big smile appeared on his face and he grabbed more. "Don't take it all Inuyasha." Kagome said while pulling it out of his reach.

"What should we do next." Kagome looked around "Do you want to go on a ride?"

Inuyasha nodded and followed Kagome to the Ferris wheel. The man who was running it told them to get ready to sit down when their chair came. Inuyasha, amazingly, had not trouble at all. But at the last moment Kagome slipped and fell into his lap instead of her seat.

"Sorry Inuyasha." Kagome felt really embarrassed. She moved out of his lap and sat next to him as the man closed the bar so they wouldn't fall out.

Inuyasha watched the people walking around below them. He felt so far away from everything. When the wheel reached the top he placed his arm on her shoulders. "You feel cold." He said, "You should have brought a jacket."

"I know. I forgot it."

He pulled off the red shirt he wore over his white one and handed it to her. "Here, this should keep you warm."

"Thanks." She slipped it over the shirt she was wearing and looked up at the stars. "Look at the stars Inuyasha."

He looked up.

"Have you ever seen anything so beautiful in your life."

Inuyasha took his eyes out of the sky and looked at Kagome. "Yes."

Kagome blushed, she knew what Inuyasha was talking about and felt very faltered. He looked down at his hands and decided that now would be the perfect time.

"Kagome, could I tell you something."

"What." Kagome turned a little bit so that she was facing Inuyasha.

"Kagome, I -" he took in a deep breath, _It's now or never_ "Kagome, I — I love you."

Kagome put her hand over her heart. Reading it on paper and hearing it from him were two separate things. She could tell that it wasn't easy for him to open himself up like that.

She put her arms around him "Oh Inuyasha I love you too."

Inuyasha turned Kagome's chin up and brushed her lips lightly with his. His kiss made Kagome's hart melt and he knew it by the way she relaxed in his arms. When her mouth opened a little bit he slid his tongue inside it. _She taste nice_ he thought to himself.

They were interrupted by the man telling them their ride was over. Both Kagome and Inuyasha got up and tried to not pay any attention to the sick smile he had on his face.

"Have fun you kids." He yelled out as they away.

"Come on, I know another ride you might like." She grabbed his hand and took Inuyasha to the entrance for the tunnel of love.

The line wasn't very long and they were able to get into their boat quickly. "This ride is usually really tacky." Kagome said "Or course, most people don't spend their time in here looking at the scenery."

Inuyasha smiled at the way Kagome blushed. When the small boat started moving he scooted closer to her and kissed along her neck. Kagome closed her eyes and leaned into Inuyasha.

He nibbled a little bit on her ear then lifted his head and looked at Kagome. He never thought he could care so much for one person before. Even when he and Kikyou had been together he never loved her as much as he loved Kagome.

Kagome had a question expression on her face, one that said _why did you stop_. So he laughed a little bit and met her lips.

The ride ended just too soon for the two of them. "Do you want to go on it again?" Inuyasha asked.

Kagome looked at her watch. As much as she wanted too, it was getting late "Sorry Inuyasha, we should be getting home soon."

"Alright." He sighed a little then followed Kagome out of the park. As they walked home Kagome started to limp a little bit. The pain killers were wearing off.

"Do you want me to carry you?" Inuyasha asked.

"Sure." Kagome could have walked the rest of the way without any trouble, but she wanted Inuyasha to hold her.

They were almost home when Kagome spotted one of the shops that was still opened. "Wait Inuyasha, I think those people sell costumes. We should stop there."

"Why?"

"We're going to a costume party on Saturday."

"What's a costume party?"

"A party that people dress up for."

Inuyasha carried Kagome into the store and set her down. "What are we going to get here?"

"I already know what I need to buy. You should find yourself a good costume."

Kagome walked away leaving Inuyasha a little helpless. He looked at all the wigs, masks, and outfits they had. He eventually decided on the black wig and normal street cloths (thinking that he could go as a human.).

He paid for it with the few dollars that Kagome's mom had given him and walked out of the store to wait for Kagome. He was only alone for a few minutes till she walked out holding her own bag.

"What did you get?" She asked him. He showed Kagome his black wig and street cloths.

"You're going as a human. That's really cleaver."

"What are you going to be?"

Kagome looked in her bag, "I don't know if I should show you."

Inuyasha reached out and grabbed the bag before Kagome had a chance to react. He opened it up and saw a white wig and dog ears. It only took him a few seconds to add two and two together.

"You're going as me aren't you." He smiled.

"Yeah."

"So that must be why you wanted cloths like mine."

Kagome laughed "Yeah."

"I feel honored." He said with a big smile on his face. He thought it was funny that Kagome would want to go to a costume party as him.

They walked home in silence, but it was a comfortable silence. The kind of silence that says were just enjoying each others presence.'

"Did you two have fun?" Kagome's mom asked when they walked into the house. She had stayed up, waiting for them.

"Yeah." Kagome said.

"That's good." She set down the magazine she had been reading "Inuyasha, I got the guest room ready for you. It's just down there." She pointed to a door.

"Alright."

Kagome watched Inuyasha walk into the room. She was a little disappointed that she wouldn't get to sleep in his arms tonight, but she was too tired to make a big deal about it.

"Good night mom." She said

"Good night honey."

Kagome hugged her mom, then walked up the stairs and into her room. When she crawled under her covers and closed her eyes, she kept playing that moment in her head. The moment when Inuyasha told her that he loved her.

****

xxx In Kikyou's castle xxx

Kikyou stood by her window looking out. She felt like something was coming, but she didn't know what. The sun was starting to set and she could see some trees slightly swaying in the wind.

"Lady Kikyou. Dinner is ready." One of the servants announced. She followed him down to the dinning room and sat at her normal spot. The food wasn't cook very well, but she was hungry enough to eat it.

Halfway through her meal she could feel someone's eyes watching her. She sent her servants away so that she was left alone in the room, then stood up.

"Who is in my castle, show yourself!" she yelled out.

She was answered by silence, so she yelled out again. "I know someone is there. Show yourself!"

Someone grabbed Kikyou by the waist and threw her against the wall. Before she had time to react she was pinned. Two hands lifted her arms above her head and pressed the against the wall so she couldn't move.

"Who are you?" she yelled. Being attacked seemed to have no affect on her attitude.

"You should know, you're the one who gave to order to have me killed."

Kikyou relaxed in his grip a little bit, "Oh. You're the one who was snooping around my castle. What's your name?"

Kouga was a little worried about how calm Kikyou was acting, but he tried not to show it. "Kouga. I'm a wolf demon, and I won't hesitate to kill you right now."

"Silly demon. You can't kill me."

"Why not."

"I've died before, so you can't kill me now. Is there anything else you want to know."

Kouga let go of Kikyou's arms, but didn't take his eyes off of her. He was ready to jump and attack at any moment. "What do you want with Kagome."

"How do you know her?"

"Tell me! Are you going to hurt her?"

Kikyou thought about it. "No. I guess not."

"Then what are you planning on doing to her."

Kikyou walked away from Kouga and sat down at the table. She continued to eat her food while glancing up at him every once and a while. "Tell me. Why do you care so much about Kagome."

"She's going to be my mate someday."

Kikyou laughed. "Even I'm not blind. Inuyasha is in love with her. You don't stand a chance."

"Someday I'll kill Inuyasha than I'll take Kagome."

Kikyou smiled when she heard this. "Would you like some wine." She poured him a glass, but he didn't take it. He obviously didn't trust her.

"You still haven't told me what you're going to do to Kagome."

"Do you actually care for her?"

"Y-yes."

Kikyou drank the glass of wine she had offered to Kouga earlier. "Maybe you could help me."

"Help you. Why would I help you hurt Kagome!" he yelled.

"Stop yelling!" she screamed out "I'm getting a headache"

The sudden burst of anger shocked Kouga. He didn't feel as confident as he did before.

"I'm not really planning on hurting her. I want to hurt Inuyasha. I figured the best way to hurt someone is to hurt their hart, not their body."

"What do you mean?"

"I hate Inuyasha, and I know that he's in love with Kagome. So I found a way for Kagome to break his heart."

"She'll never do that. Kagome's too nice."

Kikyou pushed her plate away. "She's only nice to him because she had so many happy memories of him."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about that."

"You're really stupid for such a strong demon. I found a spell that will get rid of all her happy memories of Inuyasha. She'll only remember the times he made her mad, or the times he made her cry."

"So she'll - "

"She'll leave him. She'll leave him broken hearted. He'll wonder what he did wrong." She smiled at that image in her head. "She might even go running to you."

Kouga loved this plan. He would get to have Kagome at last. "What do you need my help for?"

Kikyou turned to the gigantic windows at the end of the room "I've been trying to get Kagome to come to my castle but she's too far away. If you could get her with in a few miles it would be so much easier for me."

"How did you get a castle like this anyway? It wasn't here a few months ago."

"Have you heard of someone named Naraku?"

"Yeah."

"This was his castle, but I killed him. Then I moved it up here in the mountains so Inuyasha and Kagome wouldn't get suspicious."

"You killed Naraku."

"Yes. I even have his jewel shards. They're hidden in my room."

Kouga walked to the window and stared out for a few moments then turned to Kikyou. "Alright." He said. "I'll help you. I'll get her close enough to you castle."

****

xxx Near Kaede's house xxx

Sango walked into the clearing and saw Shippo kicking the air and punching a tree. "Shippo it's getting late. I think you should go to bed now."

Shippo was really sleepy from practicing all his moves, so he didn't argue with her as they walked back to Kaede's house.

"Sango. What are we going to do for Kagome's birthday?"

"I don't know. I think we should have a big party for her."

"That would be a lot of fun. I can't wait till they get back. I'm gonna show Inuyasha how much I've been practicing."

"I think he'll be impressed. I've never seen someone work as hard as you."

When they got to Kaede's house Miroku was the only one inside. He was sitting in the corner polishing a knife. "What's that for?" Shippo asked him.

"I got this in the market today. I thought I might give it to Kagome for her birthday."

"Why would you give her a knife?"

"She might want some protection after her arrows run out. It's happened before."

Shippo shrugged off what Miroku said, he didn't really care. He went to his small bed in the other room and fell asleep quickly. After he was gone Sango sat down next to Miroku and watched him finish the knife.

"So, what did you get her?" Miroku asked as he tied some cloth around his gift.

"You'll have to wait and see." She said.

When Miroku set the knife aside Sango moved across the room and sat in his lap. Miroku smiled at the glint Sango had in her eyes. "Do you realize," she whispered in his ear "that we are all alone. How often dose that happen?"

"Not often enough."

"Yeah. We shouldn't waste it." Sango kissed Miroku passionately on the lips. She felt his tongue going into her mouth and his hands resting on her hips.

"Sango. I love you." He moved her off of his lap and laid her down on the floor. "Are you sure you want to do this."

"Yes." She grabbed his shoulders and pulled him down on top of her. He straddled her hips and kissed her neck and shoulder while his hands moved under her shirt to massage her breast.

When Sango let out a small moan Miroku decided to tease her a little bit. He pulled her shirt above her head and kissed along her neck and down to her breast. He sucked on her nipples for a little bit then moved his kisses down to her stomach.

Sango gasped. He tugged lightly on her skirt and pulled it off. He lifted his head for a few moments to stare at her naked body. "Beautiful." He whispered.

Sango sat up a little and pulled off Miroku's shirt. He laughed at her impatience and added his pants to the pile of clothing accumulating beside them.

He positioned himself over Sango and looked down into her eyes. He loved the way they were sparkling. He lowered himself to meet Sango lips and thrusted into her at the same time.

Sango gasped. It hurt a little, but only for a few seconds. Miroku kept his pace slow so that he wouldn't hurt her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, "Faster." She managed to say between her gasps.

He granted her wish and sped up his thrust. Sango's muscles tightened around Miroku and tried not to scream when she felt herself being thrown over then edge. Miroku released himself soon after Sango and placed kisses on her neck and shoulders.

It took them a few minutes to catch their breath. When they finally did the first thing they did was put their cloths back on. Not a very romantic end to everything, but they didn't want to have to explain to Shippo or Kaede in the morning why they were naked.

Miroku laid down and put his arms around Sango. He kissed the back of her neck one last time before falling asleep. Sango felt Miroku's warm breath on her neck as he slept and drifted off to sleep herself.

****

xxx End of chapter 10 xxx

I want enough reviews to fill up the Grand Canyon just kidding. I only want 4 this time.

A lot of the reviews from chapter 9 asked me what would make me happy ... if someone could send me a review that says 'monkey monkey monkey.' I would be happy.


	11. One Way To Make Kagome Mad

Disclaimer : I don't own Inuyasha. It's as simple as that.

****

Notes to my reviewers :

kat14 - You're right ... it is my story : ) I shouldn't have to explain myself. I like your theory, but I've already worked something out in my mind.

Captured Moon - Don't worry, you didn't 'miss' anything. He just hasn't noticed yet, because he hasn't used his wind tunnle in a long time.

Everyone who sent me reviews - I loved all the monkeys I got. They made me sooooo happy. Thanks.

** **

Chapter Eleven : One Way To Make Kagome Mad

Kagome walked home slowly. Her day at school had really warn her out. She had a headache from all the information the teachers had tried to squeeze in it. Plus she was depressed over the grade she had gotten on a recent history test. An F. _How could I have an F, I'm spending most my time in history_ she thought to herself.

She was so upset over her test score that she didn't even hear Hojo calling her name until he tapped her on the shoulder. "Oh. Hi Hojo." She slowed down her pace so he could walk with her.

"Hey Kagome. I've been calling you for a long ways back."

"Really. I'm sorry."

"It's ok. Are you coming to my party tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I was thinking of bringing someone, is that ok?"

"Sure. Who is it?"

It suddenly hit Kagome that maybe it wasn't such a good idea taking Inuyasha to Hojo's house. "Inuyasha." She said with a little bit of hesitation.

"Is it the guy you went out with last night?"

"Yeah."

"I guess that's fine. Dose this mean you're his girlfriend."

Kagome blushed. "Yes."

"Alright. I'll see you at the party." Hojo smiled then turned onto the street his house was on. He didn't show it when Kagome was with him, but he was a little upset to learn that some guy had won her heart.

Though he was almost glad Kagome would be bringing him to the party. Maybe he would get a chance to meet Inuyasha and see if he really deserved his Kagome.

****

xxxxx

It only took Kagome a few more minutes to walk home. Her mood lightened when she looked up at the roof and saw Inuyasha sitting up there. "What are you doing?" she yelled out.

"Waiting for you." He yelled back.

Kagome ran up to the front door and waiting for Inuyasha to jump down. "How long were you up there?"

"I jumped up when I woke up and your mom told me you were at school."

"That must be 6 or 7 hours!"

"Yeah, so."

Kagome shook her head. And wondered how one person or demon could stand sitting on a roof and having nothing to do for that amount of time.

"Why didn't you tell me you were leaving for school?"

"You were sleeping."

"You could have woken me up."

"You looked so cute when you were asleep. Beside, you would have just tried to keep me from going to school again."

"Of course."

"Inuyasha. Why don't you want me to go to school?"

"Cause when you're at school, you're not with me."

Kagome couldn't stay angry with Inuyasha after he said that. Sometimes he could say things that were so sweet and meaningful.

Inuyasha followed her inside the house. She immediately took of her shoes and collapsed onto the couch. Inuyasha sat in his little dog position next to her, "You look tired."

"Really." She rolled her eyes as he stated the obvious.

"Maybe you should take a nap."

Kagome sat up. "I think you're right, Inu." She got off of the couch and started to walk to her room.

After she left, Inuyasha regretted suggesting the nap. He waited for her to come back from school and now she was going to sleep. "Damn it." He mumbled.

"What's wrong." Souta walked into the room.

"Nothing." He noticed that Souta was holding something in his hand. "What's that?"

"It's my present for Kagome. Its something she could use when she's mad at you, other then sit'."

"What is it?" Inuyasha was a little happy knowing there were options other then sit' out there.

"A dog whistle."

"What's a dog whistle."

"I'm sure you'll find out sooner or later. Do you want to watch TV?"

"Umm — sure."

Souta turned on a cartoon that Inuyasha watched with him until Kagome's grandfather called out Inuyasha's name. "I would like to talk with you, if you don't mind."

Inuyasha followed Kagome's grandfather into a different room that he hadn't seen before. It was filled with old dusty books, paintings, artifacts, and antiques. There wasn't a whole lot of room left for a desk or a chair, or anything. Just enough room for Kagome's grandfather, whom was shifting through a book.

"What did you want?" Inuyasha asked with a bit of a rude tone, he really never bothered showing older people respect.

"I saw something in a book a few years after Kagome was born. It didn't bother me then, but now that she's grown into a teenager I don't know."

"Pardon me, but what the hell are you talking about?"

"I was hoping you could explain this." he stooped turning the pages in a book and handed it to Inuyasha.

In the middle of the page was a photo of a really old painting. Normally Inuyasha wouldn't have cared (he wasn't artsy). The painting was one of all the people in a small village standing together. "What's so important about this?" he asked.

"Look at the very left of the picture."

Inuyasha's eyes moved to the left side of the painting and his mouth dropped. At the very end he saw Kagome. She was standing all alone with his Tetsusaiga in her hand. "W-what is she doing with Tetsusaiga? Where am I?"

"I was hoping you could tell me?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't."

"Can't what?" Kagome stood in the doorway.

Inuyasha and her grandfather turned and faced her. "Nothing." Inuyasha said, he didn't want Kagome to see the painting, so he slammed the book shut.

"Ok." Kagome gave Inuyasha a weird look, "Mom told me to tell you two that dinner is ready."

****

xxxxx

Sango walked with Shippo threw Kaede's village. She took in a deep breath. Today seemed different to her. The sky seemed bluer, the sun seemed to shine a little bit more, and everyone seemed happy.

"Can we get something to eat?" Shippo asked.

"What?" Sango had been to busy thinking about the sky and the sun to hear what Shippo asked.

"Could we get something to eat?" He pointed to a man who had a little shop selling delicious smelling food.

"Alright."

Sango walked into the shop and bought Shippo and herself some slated meat. She put it in a little bag and walked Shippo to a less crowded spot that they could eat at.

Shippo ate his portion of food really quickly and watched Sango nibble at her's. "Aren't you hungry?"

"Yeah."

"Then why are you taking so long to eat it."

"Because I want to savor the taste." She replied. "Why don't you show me all the things Inuyasha has taught you."

Shippo looked down at his feet, "I don't want to."

"Why not."

"You laugh at me when I mess up."

"No I won't."

Shippo hesitated but finally decided to show Sango all his new moves. She picked a spot in the grass to sit down and watch while Shippo walked about 15 feet away from her, he wanted lots of room.

First he ran around to show her how fast he had gotten. Then he did things like jumping in the air while kicking, changing the direction of his attacks so quickly it would take his enemy of guard, and jumping then landing in a way that created a giant hole in the ground.

"Wow Shippo." Sango clapped her hands when he was done. "I'm impressed."

Shippo held his chest high "I hope Inuyasha will be impressed too."

"I think he will. You can do so much."

"Yeah, but I still can't dent the stupid tree." Shippo grumbled.

Sango stood up and walked over to him "Don't worry. You'll get it someday. We all started out as beginners."

"Even Inuyasha?"

"Yeah." She leaned in a whispered to him, "But I don't think he'll admit it anytime soon."

Both Shippo and Sango turned when they heard a twig snap, it sounded like someone was walking up to them. They were relieved when it turned out to be Kaede holding a small basket. "Shippo." She called out "Some children are asking for you. They want to play a game."

Shippo beamed happily and ran off to meet with the kids.

"Good morning Sango." Kaede walked to Sango's side once Shippo had gone. "Would you care to join me while I look for herbs."

"What kinds of herbs."

"Any kind. I figured that you guys could use a refreshment of medicine before you leave again."

"That's very thoughtful Kaede."

The two of them walked together while talking about random things, until they got into a discussion based on Kagome. It started with the random question for Kaede of, "Do you think most of the jewel has been recovered?"

Sango thought about it. It did seem like the time between when they fight demons was getting longer and longer. "I think we do, I haven't asked Kagome, but I'm pretty sure we have most of it."

"I wonder " Kaede said, but she didn't show any effort in finishing her sentence.

"Wonder what?"

"When the jewel is completely recovered, I wonder if Kagome will go back to her time and never come back."

"She won't do that." Sango said.

"I think, Sango, that you forget the fact that Kagome has a whole other life on the other side of the well."

Sango did think about it as Kaede bent over to pick some plants. Kagome had school, friends, and family members in her time. She could never ask Kagome to stay in this time. But she also couldn't bare the thought of losing her best friend.

"I've never thought about it before." Sango said "I've always thought that our entire group would always be together."

"It is a sad thing when groups of friends brake up."

"I wonder what Inuyasha will say when Kagome goes back to her time for good?"

"That is an interesting question." Kaede said. "Knowing Inuyasha, he would either go after her or act like he isn't bothered by it."

Kaede and Sango filled up the basket that Kaede was holding and headed back to her house. Sango kept thinking about Kagome leaving her when the entire jewel was found and it left an uneasy feeling in her stomach.

****

xxxxx

Kouga reached across the table and grabbed some meat from Kikyou's dinner plate, "Aren't you going to get Kagome for me?" She asked with a little bit of annoyance.

"Hey, your servant injured me. I need some time to heal."

"So your going to spent that time in my home, eating my food."

"Why are you eating this food. Kagome once told me that you just ate dead souls and that was all."

"If I don't eat regular food, my servants will become suspicious of me."

Kouga stared at Kikyou. "Man, you look so much like her."

Kikyou slammed her hand down on the table. "You're wrong, I don't look like her, she looks like me. I was born with this face before she was."

"Ok, whatever. Don't get mad. Kagome isn't identical to you. She has different eyes and a different nose. But other then that "

Kikyou stood up and walked into a different room, leaving Kouga all alone. She was getting annoyed by the wolf demon and wanted to be away from him. The room she was in had shelves that were covered with different kinds of powders and potions. She searched through them until she found the one she wanted and then took it to Kouga.

"Here take this." she tossed the bottle at him.

"What is it." Kouga sniffed the strange liquid.

"It's a potion. It will make your wounds heal quickly."

Kouga drank the potion and kicked his feet up on the table. "You know, you haven't said sorry for trying to kill me."

"Because I'm not."

"You should still say you're sorry."

"Shouldn't you say sorry for snooping around my castle. If you hadn't done that, I wouldn't have sent my servant out to hunt you."

Kouga considered that, but didn't feel bad. "I just wanted to know where this castle came from."

Kikyou was starting to get angry at Kouga's smart ass attitude. "Tomorrow you will leave to get Kagome. Is that clear."

"It's not that easy to get her. Every time I go near her, Inuyasha smells me and starts getting protective."

"Then distract him."

"How?"

"Find a way!" She yelled out.

"You don't have to get snippy." Kouga said.

Kikyou reached across the table, and pulled him closer to her. "I could get Kagome without your help. If you don't stop annoying me, I just kill you."

Kouga decided that he really didn't want to piss Kikyou off, so he kept silent the rest of the night.

****

xxxxx

"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled out. "Kagome, you're taking to long!" He (along with the rest of Kagome's family) had been waiting for her to put her costume on for a long time.

He was wearing his black wig and street cloths. The only way to tell he wasn't a human was his eyes. He sat down on the couch next to Kagome's mom and mumbled something about girls always taking to long.

"Inuyasha, did you come up with that costume all by yourself?" Souta asked.

"Yes."

"I like it, you have a cool costume. It's too bad nobody will notice it."

"What do you mean." Inuyasha had been proud of his costume.

Before Souta answered Kagome stepped into the room. She was wearing Inuyasha's traditional red outfit, she had white hair, dog ears, and even went so far as to get amber colored eye contact lenses.

"How did you do that to your eyes?" Inuyasha asked. He was amazed at how much Kagome looked like him.

Kagome just laughed at his expression. "Come one, we're going to be late."

"If we are it will be your fault."

Kagome folded her arms in front of her. "That's rude. I just wanted my costume to be perfect."

"Yeah, sure." Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

Kagome grabbed his arm and headed for the door. "Have fun." Kagome's mom said as they were leaving, "Don't stay out to late."

****

xxxxx

Kagome hesitated knocking on Hojo's door. She really had a bad feeling about bring Inuyasha to his house, it couldn't end good. "Are you sure you want to go to this party?" She asked.

"Yeah." Inuyasha had been looking forward to this party all day. He wanted to see what people from Kagome's time did for fun.

"Alright." She gritted her teeth and knocked on the door. It only took Hojo a few moments to open it up.

"Kagome, I'm glad you came, I really like your costume."

"Thanks Hojo. This is Inuyasha."

Hojo turned to Inuyasha, "Hi, feel free to make yourself at home here. Sorry you couldn't find a costume." He moved out of the way and Kagome led Inuyasha into the house.

The living room was filled with people dancing to the music on the stereo that Hojo set up. There weren't as many people in the dinning room, so that's where Kagome went. All the chairs had been taken out and the table was filled with snack foods. A few people were standing around, talking.

Inuyasha immediately grabbed a handful of dried potatoes' and shoved them in his mouth. "Why'd Hojo say I didn't have a costume?" he asked as soon as he swallowed.

Kagome was about to answer when a bunch of girls walked up to her. "Kagome. We didn't think you'd come."

"Why?"

"You haven't developed the best reputation for showing up to things." One of them commented.

Inuyasha let Kagome talk with the girls and walked away to explore more of the house. He somehow found himself in the kitchen where Hojo was preparing a bunch of drinks.

"Hi Inuyasha. Do you need something?"

"Huh — No."

"So I guess you and Kagome are a couple now."

Inuyasha didn't like that way Hojo said that, "Yeah, I guess we are."

Hojo was silent for a few moments. "So, where did you and Kagome meet?"

"What?"

"Well, I saw Kagome at school every time she showed up and she never mentioned you."

"For good reason." Inuyasha mumbled.

"What'd you say."

"Nothing. I guess we met by a tree."

"A tree?"

"Yeah."

Kagome walked into the kitchen, "There you are Inuyasha. Come on, I want to dance."

"Umm — ok." He let himself be dragged into the living room where everyone else was.

Kagome hadn't really wanted to dance, but she didn't like the idea of Inuyasha and Hojo being alone in the same room together. A slow song came on over the stereo and Kagome pulled Inuyasha to the center of the room.

Inuyasha started to look a little nervous. He had never danced before and didn't think he would be able to now. Kagome put one of his hands around his waist and the other one on her shoulder. Then she started to move to the beat of the music. She kept eye contact with him so that he wouldn't feel uncomfortable.

After a few minutes he started to get the hang of it. He even felt so venturous to twirl Kagome around. Every thing went well until he tried to dip her. Because he wasn't used to wearing shoes, the sudden weight shift through him off balance. Not only did he drop Kagome, but he tripped and fell on her legs.

"Ahh. Inuyasha get off."

"Sorry." He said after giving his own feet a mean look.

"Kagome are you ok." Hojo helped her to her feet, leaving Inuyasha to fend for himself.

"Yeah I'm fine." She smiled. The whole situation to her was funny. Even though Inuyasha was embarrassed as hell.

"Do you want to dance with me? I swear I won't trip."

Kagome looked over at Inuyasha he had moved off the dance floor and was leaning on the wall. "Umm — Sure."

Inuyasha faintly growled as he watched Hojo and Kagome dancing. It wasn't the fact that Hojo had his arms around Kagome, it was that Hojo was a better dancer then him. Kagome didn't need to show him how to move step by step. Plus it looked like Kagome was enjoying herself.

"You must be Inuyasha!" Some girl, whom Inuyasha assumed was one of Kagome's friends, walked up to him.

"Yeah." He didn't take his eyes off Kagome.

"She hasn't talked about you much. I only learned your name threw Hojo." The girl noticed that Inuyasha wasn't even looking at her. She glanced over at the dance floor and watched Hojo and Kagome dance.

"Don't they look cute together?" she said.

"No." Inuyasha replied immediately.

He started to get angry when Hojo's hand slid down Kagome's back, in his opinion it was a little to near her butt. Thankfully the song ended. Before another one could start Inuyasha walked up to Kagome. "Could we go now?" he asked.

"Sure." Kagome responded. She knew from the beginning the Inuyasha would get jealous or become uncomfortable so she wasn't that surprised.

"Hey!" Hojo said. "She just got here! She doesn't have to leave if she doesn't want to!" A lot of the people in the room started staring at what was happening.

"Hojo." Kagome said, she didn't want a fight to start.

"Yeah Hobo!" Inuyasha said. "I don't care if she just got here. I'm not going to let some loser feel up my girlfriend."

"Inuyasha stop." Kagome said with desperation.

"At least I know how to dance."

"You were just trying to make me look bad!"

"I don't have to try to do that. Now leave. Kagome doesn't want you here."

"How do you know what Kagome wants. She's mine not yours."

"She doesn't belong to anyone. Especially a jealous freak with two left feet!"

"Hojo shut up!" Kagome yelled. Everyone went silent. "Inuyasha, we're leaving." She said in a harsh tone that told him; she was just as mad at Inuyasha as she was Hojo.

She stormed out of the house and walked quickly along the sidewalk. Inuyasha had to practically run to keep up with her. "Kagome I -" he looked over and saw that she had tears in her eyes. That made him feel extremely guilty.

"Inuyasha why did you have to provoke a fight? Why?"

"I didn't mean to." He said, but knew that wouldn't settle for an excuse.

Kagome didn't slow down her pace. "Why do you have to act so jealous Inuyasha. You're always mean to Kouga. You were a jerk to Hojo. Why? I'm not interested in anyone but you. And you know that!"

Inuyasha couldn't answer, he didn't know why he got jealous all the time, he just did.

Kagome walked the rest of the way in silence. When they got to her house she told Inuyasha to wait by the well and she walked inside. When he was alone he had time to think about what happened.

If he could go back in time he wouldn't have made such a big deal about everything, but he couldn't. He pulled off the black wig and tossed it on the ground. He sat down in his little dog position and tried to think of some way to make it up to Kagome. For some reason he didn't think a simple apology would do the job.

Kagome came out of her house a few minutes later carrying her back pack. She didn't speak to Inuyasha as she jumped into the well. When they were both on the other side she just walked to Kaede's house to drop of her stuff.

"Kagome why do you look like Inuyasha?" Shippo asked excitedly. Miroku and Sango looked up. They were about to ask her the same thing, but saw the look on her face.

She threw her bag into Kaede's house and walked to the stream Sango and herself usually took baths. She sat down and buried her head in her hands. She loved Inuyasha with all her heart, but didn't know how being with him would be possible if he got jealous all the time.

"What did you do?" Sango asked as soon as she saw Inuyasha walking up.

"Where's Kagome?"

"She walked off. What did you do?"

"I — I sort of started a fight with some of her friends." He mumbled.

"Inuyasha! No." Miroku was amazed at Inuyasha stupidity.

"I didn't mean too."

"Sure." Everyone gave him a doubtful look.

"Which way did she go?" he asked.

"Do you really think now is a good time to bother her?" Sango asked.

Inuyasha let out a frustrated groan and walked into Kaede's house. "How long do you think it will take Kagome to cool off?" Miroku asked Sango.

"I don't know she looked really pissed off."

Shippo was a little arrogant to what was going on. He hadn't noticed any look on Kagome's face, so he went searching for her.

"Kagome?" he saw her by the river but still had a hard time telling if it was her because of the Inuyasha costume.

She lifted her head up and looked at him. "Yes?" Her eyes were a little red and there were tears on her cheeks.

"Why are you crying Kagome." Shippo walked up to her.

"I'm crying because I'm in love with a loser."

"Oh Inuyasha. What'd he do? Do you want me to beat him up?"

Kagome smiled a little bit. "No. I don't think you can beat up Inuyasha."

"I'll try if you want me too."

Kagome leaned over and hugged Shippo. "Thanks for the offer, but no."

"Alright." Shippo sat by Kagome side until she was ready to go back to Kaede's house.

When they walked in Inuyasha got a look of relief on his face. "Kagome -" he started to apologies but Kagome just turned her back to him. She wasn't crying any more but she was still angry with him.

****

Xxxxx

Will Kagome stop being angry with Inuyasha?

Will Shippo ever be able to cause damage to the stupid tree?

Will Kouga and Kikyou succeed in their plan?

Tune in next time same Inuchannle same Inuplace.

I would like 100 reviews ok ok maybe that's a little much. How about 3.


	12. The Arrows

Disclaimer : I don't own Inuyasha.

****

Notes to my reviewers:

inufeak831 - You're actually closer then you think. I really want to tell you what you got wrong and what you got right, but that would just ruin the story for everyone. But ... oh my god, you are really on the right path.

Pattycake - Don't worry. I don't think I could kill off the person that the show is named after. Tee hee.

Paul Powell - Does it roll?

RmGuccione - You're review was my 100th one, thank you. (Pretend that a bunch of colorful balloons are falling down on you.)

****

Chapter Twelve : The Arrows

Inuyasha paced to floor impatiently as he waited for Kagome and Sango to get back from wherever they'd gone early in the morning. He knew that she was still mad at him, but he had to think of some way to get her to be happy.

"Inuyasha, will you calm down."

He ignored what Miroku said and continued his pacing. "I'm trying to think."

"Wow, that's a first. Does it hurt?" Shippo asked.

Inuyasha just growled at him. "Shut up Shippo." He hit the little boy on the back of the head as he walked by then continued to think.

After a few moments of not bothering Miroku asked. "What are you thinking about?"

"I need to think of some way to make Kagome happy."

"Well," Miroku grinned.

"Shut up Miroku, something other then that."

"You could get her flowers." Shippo said.

"I don't think that will help," Miroku said "Kagome seemed really mad. What, exactly, did you do Inuyasha?"

"How do you know it was me? Maybe she's the one you should be blaming."

"We know you too well Inuyasha. What did you do?"

Inuyasha sat down and crossed his arms, "I kind of started a fight at a party she was looking forward to."

"Did you punch someone?" Shippo asked.

"No. It was more of a verbal fight."

"Wow." Miroku said "I've never seen you as a verbal fight type of guy."

"I'm not. But Kagome dragged me out of there before I could take a swing at the guy."

"Why were you fighting with him in the first place?"

Inuyasha leaned against the wall, "He was trying to grab Kagome butt."

"I do that all the time, are you gonna start hitting me?" Miroku half joked.

"Do you want me to start?" Inuyasha gave him an angry look even though he wasn't mad at him.

Shippo sat by Inuyasha. "Guess what?"

"What?" Inuyasha glanced down at Shippo.

"I practiced all my moves while you were gone."

"Great. Can you dent the tree yet?"

"No."

"Don't worry, you'll get it."

Shippo thought back to what Sango had told him earlier. "Inuyasha "

"What?"

"We're you ever a beginner, like me?"

Inuyasha smiled. Normally he would say something like I've always been powerful, ever since the day I was born.' But he didn't want Shippo to feel bad. Plus he didn't feel the need to act tough in front of Shippo and Miroku.

"Of course, everyone starts out as a beginner."

Miroku was a little shocked that he admitted that, _Inuyasha must think of us as true friends_ he thought.

"Sango said, you would never admit that in this lifetime."

"Did she "

"Yeah. She was wrong huh."

"Yeah." Inuyasha closed his eyes again, "I still need to think of something to do for Kagome."

"Did you try saying you're sorry."

"That might not cut it."

"Wow, you must have really fucked things up." Miroku stood up. "Was the party that important to her?"

"I don't think it that fact that I ruined the party." Inuyasha said "I just think she's mad at how easily I get jealous."

"Then just, don't get jealous anymore." Shippo said.

"It's not that easy. Kagome is really pretty, and I know I'm not the only guy who notices that."

"Think of it this way." Miroku said, while trying to sound wise. "A lot of guys may have their eyes set on Kagome, but Kagome has her eyes set on you. That should be enough. Just trust her."

Inuyasha did think about it for a few moments. "Damn it. I hate it when you're right."

****

xxx With Sango and Kagome xxx

Sango and Kagome tiptoed away from Kaede's house. They knew that Inuyasha was a light sleeper and didn't want him to wake him up. They walked together in silence for a little while till they were deeper into the woods.

"So," Sango said "why are you mad at Inuyasha?"

"Is that why you dragged me out here?" Kagome asked. Just as the sun came up Sango had woken Kagome up and told her to come outside with her.

"No, I just wanted to know."

"Because." Kagome said "I'm just tired of Inuyasha getting jealous all the time."

"Oh." She paused and thought about it "Maybe you could look at it as a good thing."

"How?"

"If he gets jealous it means he cares about you."

"I already know that. He told me so."

"Inuyasha! What did he say?"

"That he loved me."

Sango screamed and hugged Kagome tightly. "Oh, I thought he would never say it. I'm so happy for you."

"Sango, I can't breathe." _Even I didn't have that kind of reaction _she thought.

"Sorry." She let go. "I'm just excited. That's all."

"Wasn't there something else you wanted to talk to me about?" Kagome wanted to take the conversation off her and Inuyasha.

"What? oh Yeah." She got a really big smile on her face. "I'm getting married."

"To who?"

"What do you mean to who' Miroku."

"So I guess I was right when I said you liked him."

"Yeah." Little bits of pink came to her face. "sorry I called you a bitch."

"It's alright."

They sat down under a tree for shade, even though it was still morning, it was getting hot outside. Kagome reached up and grabbed an apple while Sango debated bring up the whole Kouga event. If he wasn't dead then Kagome didn't really need to know, did she.

"What's that?" Kagome pointed off in the distance.

Sango look in the direction Kagome was pointing and slapped her forehead. She had accidentally taken Kagome to the spot Kouga used to be buried in.

"That's where Kouga was buried."

"Kouga died!" Kagome was surprised.

"No."

"Then why was he buried? Where is he now?" Kagome didn't want Kouga to come anywhere near her. Not while she was still mad at Inuyasha for the whole Hojo thing.

"Let me explain." Sango took a deep breath. "Shippo thought Kouga was dead. Someone had attacked him. So Kaede buried him. Later Miroku and I went to visit his grave and found that Kouga had dug his way out."

"He was buried alive!" Kagome had always been afraid of being buried alive.

"Yeah, Shippo made the mistake of thinking he was dead, when all he needed was medical help."

"Where is he now?"

"I don't know."

"Do we know who attacked him?"

"No."

Kagome closed her eyes and tried to process the story in her mind. "What about the jewels. Does he still have the jewels in his legs."

"No. Kaede has them in her house, along with the arrows found in his back."

"I think I should take a look at those arrows." Kagome stood up.

She and Sango walked back to Kaede's house. The whole way Kagome kept thinking. She didn't know if she should feel bad that Kouga was still alive or be happy. She didn't like Kouga, but she didn't wish death upon him.

"Morning Kagome." Shippo's voce shook her out of her thoughts. Kagome hadn't realized that she was back in Kaede's house already. Miroku and Shippo were eating some food they had prepared themselves. Inuyasha, however, was sitting at one end of the room with a hopeful look on his face.

"Good morning Kagome -" he started to say, but she gave him a dirty look.

"I'm still mad Inuyasha." She turned to Miroku "Where are the arrows and jewels?"

Miroku waked to the middle of the room and lifted up some loose floorboards and pulled out two things. One was a little pouch that had the jewel shards in it, the other was a few of the arrows.

Kagome reached out and grabbed the arrows first and examined them. They were made of a really dark wood and the feathers on the end were deep red with little bits of black in them. Kagome ventured so far as to touch the tip. It surprised her when the slightest pressure from her finger pierced her skin.

She pulled her hand back quickly and looked up. She hadn't noticed that everyone was silent and watching her. "These are really good arrows." She said. She lifted on high in the air them slammed it as hard as she could into the floor. The arrow went through the wood, at least three inches deep.

It took a little more effort to pull it out, but Kagome was still amazed. "I wonder who made these?" she said out loud, but mainly to herself.

"These are the jewel shards we got from him." Miroku said, handing her the pouch.

Kagome hesitantly put the arrows down and grabbed the jewel shards. She reached into her backpack and pulled out the other ones then put them all in the palm of her hand.

"What are you doing?"

"I want to try something." Kagome said. She closed her hand around the jewel shards and squeezed them as tightly as she could. With a concentrated look on her face she put more and more pressure on the shards until she felt them change.

When she opened her hand, she was happy to see that all the pressure had made them transform into one. It looked like they only had a small portion of the total jewel..

"The rest must be the jewel shards that Naraku has." Kagome mumbled.

"How did you do that?" Shippo asked.

"I don't know, I just did."

Kagome glanced once more at the arrows and rubbed her finger. It was a little sore from the cut. She was a little surprised, it was only a small cut, but it was really bothering her. "What's wrong?" Inuyasha asked.

She looked up at him and was about to yell at him, but she heard the voice in her head, it was faint but she could still hear it. _Kagome. You just sealed your fate. Kagome. Are you ready to come with me._ She quickly put her hands over her ears and tried to force the voice out.

"Damn it." She mumbled when it was gone.

"What?" Sango asked.

"It was nice when I was in my time. I wasn't tormented by that stupid voice."

"What voice?"

Kagome didn't feel like going into detail. "Nothing. I don't want to talk about it right now." She stood up and almost fell over. She had that feeling she usually got when she stood up to quickly, but it lasted longer then it normally did.

"Are you okay?" Miroku asked "You look a little pail."

"I'm fine." Kagome said, but she had to sit back down before her knees gave way.

****

xxx Kikyou's castle xxx

"I expect you to be leaving soon." Kikyou said to Kouga. She was getting tired of the way he paraded around her castle.

"I will, as soon as the sun goes down."

Kikyou walked around outside in some of the flowers her servants planted for her. "I'm really surprised you're not dead."

"I told you. Demons are harder to kill then humans."

"I know." Kikyou picked one of the flowers and began to pull its petals off. "It's just the tip of each arrow you were shot with, had poison on it. I do that so even if the arrow doesn't go deep the person will still die."

Kouga leaned his head back, "That would explain a lot."

"What do you mean?"

"After the arrows hit me. I felt really sick, that's why I passed out. And even after I woke up, I didn't have the energy to open my eyes and tell everyone that I was still alive."

"The why aren't you dead."

"Poison only has temporary effects on me. I have some kind of immunity in my blood."

"Interesting."

"Yeah. I'm a pretty amazing guy."

Kikyou rolled her eyes. "No wonder Kagome doesn't like you."

"What?"

"No girl likes being with a guy that thinks he's the gods gift to women."

Kouga bit his lip. That was the same thing Kagome told him. "I can't help it if I'm better then everyone else."

Kikyou shook her head and tossed the stem of the flower on the ground. "You are really full of shit, did you know that."

Kouga took a step back. "Well You're a bitch. Do you know that."

"Yes I do." She said. She walked past him and back into her castle.

****

xxx Later that night at Kaede's house xxx

"Kagome!" Shippo yelled, he had just gotten done with his second lesson from Inuyasha and wanted to tell her all about it.

He ran into Kaede's house where Kagome was sitting and jumped onto her lap. Kagome let out a small yelp when he did that. She was feeling really sick. "Get off." She gasped.

Everyone looked at Kagome, usually she didn't mind when Shippo jumped on her. "Sorry Kagome." He said in a timid voice.

Kagome stood up and walked slowly to the door. "Where are you going?" Sango asked. She wasn't looking to well. A lot of the color in her face had gone away and she was sweating, thought she had blamed it on the heat, Sango wasn't fooled.

"I just need some fresh air." She said. Inuyasha watched her walk away.

"Is something wrong with Kagome? Did she eat your cooking?" he looked at Miroku.

"Hey, I'm not a bad cooker."

"Sure you're not." He said sarcastically.

"I don't know. Maybe you should follow her." Sango said "It could give you a chance to make up for whatever it was to piss her off."

Inuyasha decided that Sango was right, so he stood up and followed Kagome for a distance away. She stopped by the river and got down on her hands and knees to look at her reflection. She tried to get a clear view of her face, but she couldn't. It felt like she had just been twirling around until she fell down. Making it really hard to distinguish solid objects. After letting taking in a deep breath and letting it out to keep from throwing up she dipped her hands into the water and splashed some on her face.

"Kagome." Inuyasha walked up behind her. She didn't turn around, but she did give him her full attention.

"Kagome, I'm sorry I was such an asshole."

Kagome stood up, it took some effort but she managed to stay balanced. "Inuyasha an apology won't do the trick this time." She was having a hard time putting words together. _What's wrong with me_. She thought.

"I know. I've decided to make a promise to you."

"What?"

Inuyasha walked closer to Kagome and held on to her hand, he was surprised a how cold it felt, but just ignored it. "Kagome, I'll try to stop being jealous all the time. I'll trust you."

All of Kagome's anger went away and she tried with all her might to smile, but her lips just wouldn't move.

"Kagome, are you alright?" Inuyasha was starting to notice the tired and almost helpless look in her eyes.

"I'm fine." She lied. She looked up at Inuyasha and could tell he was worried. They started to walk back to Kaede's house, but things started to get a little hazy for Kagome. She grabbed on to Inuyasha sleeve to keep her balance, but it didn't help much.

She stumbled for a few more feet then passed out. Inuyasha caught her mid fall, "Kagome!" he shook her a little bit "Kagome, what's wrong?" He lifted her off her feet and ran as fast as his legs would carry him to Kaede's house. She would be able to help.

****

xxx Kaede's House xxx

Kaede sat down next to Miroku and looked around the room. Sango was sitting by the window waiting for Inuyasha and Kagome to return and Shippo was coloring with some crayons Kagome had given him earlier.

"What is that?" she asked when she saw a small hole in her floor.

"That's from where Kagome slammed the arrow into the wood. It went really deep." Miroku said.

Kaede moved to the hole and touched it with her finger. The wood around the hole was starting to take on a greenish look to it. She wondered what caused it to do that, but her thoughts were interrupted when Inuyasha rushed in holding Kagome.

"Kaede, something is wrong with her." He set Kagome on the ground, everyone gathered around her body.

"What happened?" Kaede asked while checking her pulse.

"I don't know. We were talking and she just passed out."

"Has she gotten bit by anything? Did she eat or drink anything odd?"

Everyone shook their heads. Kaede turned Kagome's hand over and noticed the small cut on her finger. "When did she get this?"

"She was touching the tip of the arrow, and it cut her." Shippo said.

Kaede picked up one of the arrows and looked closely at it. She could faintly see small droplets of something on it. "What is this?" she asked herself out loud. She brought the arrow up to her nose and took a little sniff.

She could instantly tell it was some kind of poison.

"I'll need to prepare a drink for Kagome. It will slow down the poison."

"Poison!" Inuyasha exclaimed. He brushed some hair out of her face, he didn't want his Kagome to die.

Kaede mixed some herbs together and boiled them. She was moving very quickly for an old woman. When the drink was done Inuyasha held Kagome's mouth opened while she poured it in.

"Will she be alright?" Shippo asked.

"I don't know." Kaede responded. "The most I can do is slow the poison down, we need someone who can get it out of her system."

"Who would be able to do that?" Sango asked.

"I don't know. But we need to find some, otherwise Kagome will die."

****

xxx End of chapter twelve xxx

Reviews make the world go round ... hint hint.

Lots of Love from Daydreamer62386 : )


	13. The One Thing That Inuyasha Is Afraid Of

Disclaimer: I am hopelessly addicted to something I don't own Inuyasha. I would also like to take this moment to say that writers block is a bitch.

****

Notes to my reviewers:

Captured Moon - That book sounds so cool ... now I'm jealous.

**Chapter Thirteen (The Unlucky Chapter) : The One Thing Inuyasha Is Afraid Of**

Inuyasha leaned his head on the wall and listened to Kagome's uneven breathing. She along with everyone else was asleep. But Inuyasha had once again woken up in the middle of the night from a night mare.

In his dream, Kagome was trapped in a small cage that was sinking slowly into the river. He tried with all his might to reach her and help, but for some reason he couldn't. Every time he reached for her, his hand would fall short.

He looked down at her now and didn't feel much better. Kagome's face was covered with droplets of sweat and she was grinding her teeth. It looked like she was fighting a painful, losing, battle inside her body.

He reached down and felt the skin on her cheek. Despite the fact that it was a really hot night, Kagome's skin was icy cold. Inuyasha took of his red shirt and placed it over her. Apparently the blanket she was using wasn't helping.

Inuyasha sat, wide awake, next to Kagome as the sun came up and everyone started to stir. "How long have you been up?" Sango asked as she stretched out and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"Not long." Inuyasha lied.

Sango gave him a doubtful look, but could tell he was just worried about Kagome, so she let him be. Kaede walked into the room and poured some more tea in Kagome's mouth, then cooked some breakfast for everyone else.

"Do we have any idea about who could help Kagome?" Miroku asked everyone in general.

"What about Myouga." Shippo asked, "Didn't he get the poison out of your blood that one night?" he looked at Inuyasha.

Miroku and Sango didn't know what Shippo was talking about. They hadn't joined the group when Inuyasha had gotten poisoned by the spider demon.

Inuyasha thought back to that night. All he really remembered was the way Kagome cried over him and how he opened up for the first time and told her that he lied when he had insulted her before.

"Yeah. Myouga could help, but I don't know where he is right now. There has to be someone else."

"Who?"

"I don't know." Inuyasha was a little frustrated "But I feel like I'm forgetting someone."

Everyone looked over at Kagome as she let out a small cry and rolled onto her side with her hands holding tightly to her stomach. The color in her face had completely gone away, she looked extremely sick.

"I'm going to get her some water." Sango said. She got up, grabbed two buckets, and walked out of Kaede's house.

Miroku and Inuyasha sat with Kaede in complete silence while Kagome lay in the corner. "I wonder if there is some way to summon Myouga." Miroku said out loud.

"I don't think so." Inuyasha said. "He just always kind of shows up."

Kagome started to cry a little bit so Inuyasha placed his hand on the side of her cheek and she stopped. He smiled to himself over this power of making Kagome feel better. He took his hand off her cheek and set it on her forehead.

Sango turned around when she heard footsteps behind her and saw Shippo following her. "Sango. What's going to happen to Kagome?"

"I don't know." Sango said. She was extremely worried about her friend.

"I don't want Kagome to die." Shippo said. Sango could see tears forming in his eyes.

"Shippo, don't worry. You and I both know Kagome is a tough girl. She won't give up with out a fight."

Shippo tried not to cry, but this whole situation reminded him of his parents death. It was like it was happening all over again. Kagome was his favorite person in the whole world. She was always nice to him. Not many people were like that. He didn't want to lose her.

When they got to the river Sango bent down and filled the buckets with water while Shippo took deep breaths in and counted to ten. "Shippo." Sango said when she stood up and handed him one of the full buckets. "You don't have to hide your tears from me. Everyone cries sometimes."

"Not Inuyasha."

Sango rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Inuyasha is the one exemption in this whole world."

"But I want to be just like him when I grow up."

"You want to grow up to be like Inuyasha!"

"Yeah."

"Don't. You're to sweet to be like Inuyasha."

Shippo didn't really understand what that meant. Inuyasha may be mean a lot, but he was really strong. Shippo always felt safe around Inuyasha, and he wanted people to feel safe around him when he got older.

It didn't take them a long time to get back to Kaede's house. When they did Sango noticed that Inuyasha hadn't moved at all from his spot next to Kagome. He had one of his hands on Kagome's forehead, and he was running his fingers through her hair, every now and then. She set the bucket she was holding next to her body.

Kagome looked different now. She still looked sick, frail, and near death, but she seemed to have a more comforted look on her face. That confused her, but she brushed it off.

"Inuyasha, Miroku, Shippo, you guys need to leave."

"What!" Inuyasha was determined not to move.

"I need to wash Kagome. You guys can't be in here for that."

Inuyasha's ears went down and he slowly walked out of Kaede's house. He didn't want to leave Kagome's side. He was afraid that she would wake up and notice that he wasn't around. That thought was enough to drive him mad, so he waited by the door, ready to enter as soon as Sango said he could.

Kaede started to boil some water while Sango carefully removed Kagome's clothing. She took the shirt and green skirt and dipped them in one of the buckets. Her cloths were really dirty from all the perspiration on them.

Sango dug through Kagome's backpack, but the only extra set of cloths she could find, was the Inuyasha — look — alike — red clothing. "This will have to do." She mumbled and set them aside.

"The water is almost done." Kaede said "Why don't you hang those cloths out to dry."

Sango took the wet cloths and walked outside. She almost tripped over Inuyasha when she walked out the door.

"Can I go back in now?" he asked quickly and hopefully.

"No. Don't worry, I'll call you."

She hung the cloths on the branch of a near by tree and walked back inside. When she got in Kaede was already almost done washing Kagome with the hot water.

"How long do you think the tea will work?" Sango asked Kaede. She had wanted to ask it all last night and all this morning, but she didn't want to say anything in front of Inuyasha.

"My tea will only slow the poison down for a little while. If I give her a cup three times a day, she might live for four more days."

Sango bit her lip and held back her tears. She hated seeing Kagome like this. Frail, so near death. Kaede and Sango dressed Kagome then called the men back in. Inuyasha immediately took his spot next to Kagome and brushed his hand along her cheek to show her that he was back to watch over her.

****

xxx Kagome xxx

She could faintly hear voices as she tried to take in deep breaths. For some reason she was having a hard time breathing. It felt like something heavy was on her chest. She heard someone, it sounded like Miroku, say to help Kagome.'

__

Help she thought. That word rang in her ears. She needed help, but she didn't know how to get it. The hot liquid that someone kept pouring down her throat only offered temporary relief.

The smell of food hit Kagome's nose and she felt the sudden need to vomit. She cried out and clutched her stomach.

She heard someone's foot steps and wondered who it was, she wondered if the person was coming or going. Then she felt the sudden need to be held by Inuyasha. She wanted to feel his strong arms around her. She needed his comfort. But she didn't know where he was.

She didn't know if Inuyasha was five inches from her or five hundred miles. She could barely even tell where she was. She could only see darkness. She didn't know if she was in a dark room or if her eyes were closed, but she was still scared.

Kagome started to cry. She needed Inuyasha. It surprised her a little bit when she felt Inuyasha's warm hand on her cheek and she instantly felt comforted. She felt his hand move from her cheek to her forehead, running his finger through her hair every now and then. She felt better knowing Inuyasha was near.

She almost cried out again when he pulled his hand away, but the sound of Sango and Kaede's voices calmed her enough (even though she would rather be held by Inuyasha). She could feel them pulling her cloths away. It wasn't until the hot water touched her skin that she let out a breath of relief. She was so cold for some reason.

It only took a few more minutes till she felt clothing back on her body, but she became happy when she once again felt Inuyasha's hand brush along her cheek. _He's back_ she thought _He won't let anything bad happen to me._

****

xxxxx

Inuyasha looked down at Kagome with pity. He wanted to help her, but he didn't know how. All he could do was watch her suffer. "Isn't there anything else you can do?" he pleaded with Kaede.

"I'm sorry Inuyasha, but I can't magically make the poison go away."

__

Magically Inuyasha thought. That word set off a light bulb in his head. "What about Lady Lei. She can help."

Miroku, Sango, and Shippo had no idea who Lady Lei was until Inuyasha and Kaede (who had met Lady Lei when she was younger) explained who she was, and what kind of powers she had.

"Do you think she would help?" Miroku asked.

"Sure. She helped Kagome and me find you guys when Kikyou had you."

"Ok, let's bring Kagome to her."

Kaede leaned back, "I don't think Kagome's body could stand to travel. Inuyasha, why don't you go alone and bring Lady Lei here."

Inuyasha's eyes got wide. "I don't want to leave Kagome. What if she wakes up and she can't find me."

"She won't wake up until you get Lady Lei. Besides," Sango said "You're the fastest. You could probably have Lady Lei here by the end of the night."

Inuyasha growled a little bit deep in his throat, but knew that they were right. He leaned down and kissed Kagome's forehead then rushed to the door. "I'll hurry." He said just before leaving. But nobody could tell if he was talking to them or to Kagome.

****

xxx Kagome xxx

Kagome felt Inuyasha's hand tense up a little bit, _Is something wrong_ she thought. He wasn't running his fingers through her hair anymore. His attention seemed to be on something else.

She felt him kiss her forehead the heard his voice, "I'll hurry." He seemed so far away.

__

Where are you going she mentally yelled. She waited for his hand to brush along her cheek again, but didn't feel it. _Inuyasha._ She had the sudden feeling like she was all alone. Despite the fact that she could faintly hear Sango and Miroku talking to Kaede.

Someone grabbed onto her hand, but she could tell it wasn't Inuyasha. It was smaller. It was Shippo's. Even though she was glad Shippo was with her, she still wanted Inuyasha to be there.

****

xxxxx

Inuyasha ran as fast as he ever ran before. He didn't care if his breathing was uneven, he didn't care if his legs felt like jelly, he didn't care about anything except getting back to Kagome's side. He was so angry with Kaede for making him leave her.

It actually didn't take long for Inuyasha to reach the village that Lady Lei lived in, but to his frustration, she wasn't there. It looked like she left her house to visit someone, so he sat down and waited for her.

He tapped his foot impatiently and glanced around her house. It was a lot like Kaede's house, but this one was filled with several shelves full of certain potions and powders. His curiosity got the better of him and he started to snoop around her house.

At first, Inuyasha, didn't find anything that caught his eye. When he walked past the potions and powders he found a table with different types of candles on it. Small ones, tall ones, dark ones, and light ones. He saw a bottle in the corner or the room that was filled with human hair, he assumed it had something to do with spells and just ignored it.

What really got his attention was an old piece of yellowed paper that was nailed to the wall. He would have just passed it by, but he saw Sango's name on it. He leaned in and read that paper. It said :

__

The Six People That Will Save The Jewel

Inuyasha knew it was talking about. It seemed to be some kind of prophecy, so he read on.

__

Sango

Miroku

Shippo

Inuyasha

Kagome

But it was the last name that really threw Inuyasha off.

__

Kouga

All these young humans and demons will contribute to the rise or fall of the Shikon Jewel.

"Kouga." He said out loud "What does Kouga have to do with anything."

"A lot." Lady Lei said, making Inuyasha jump.

"Lady Lei. I didn't see you there."

"I know. Is something wrong?"

"Yes."

"It's Kagome isn't it?"

"Yes. She was poisoned. Can you help?"

For the first time Lady Lei saw a look a fear in Inuyasha's eyes. _He is truly afraid that she will die._ She thought to herself.

She walked over to one of the shelve and grabbed a bottle off of it. "Inuyasha. Almost a month ago, I told you that Kagome's destiny was fill with suffering."

"I know."

She moved closer to Inuyasha. "You didn't believe me did you."

He looked down at his feet "No. I didn't."

She handed him the bottle. "That will get the poison out of her body. It will take a day or so before she if fully healed, though."

"Thank you Lady Lei." Inuyasha said. He was about to walk out of her house, but she called him back.

"Inuyasha,"

"What."

"Kikyou is trying to put a spell on her, I suggest you keep at least one eye on Kagome at all times."

"I will."

"And, could you do me a favor."

"Sure."

"Ask Kagome about the voice in her head."

__

Voice in her head? What voice? He was about to ask this out loud, but Lady Lei walked over to the candles and lit a few of them. She seemed to be getting ready to perform a spell, so he quietly walked out of the room.

Lady Lei watched Inuyasha walk out of her house and waited till he started running until she walked to the giant pot in the center of her house. She chanted something softly and watched a picture form in the liquid.

It was Kagome. Lady Lei looked down at the girl and took pity. She thought it was wrong that she should suffer. Kagome was awake to feel all the physical pain, but she didn't have that strength to open her eyes or talk.

Lady Lei reached beside the pot and grabbed a handful of powder. It was a mix that would allow Kagome to sleep until she was completely healed, that way she wouldn't feel any pain. "Sweet dreams, young girl." She said as she sprinkled the powder in.

67 miles away Kagome started to fall asleep. If she could have smiled she would have. Sleep was such a better alternative to being awake.

****

xxxxx

Inuyasha walked into Kaede's house with the bottle in his hand. "How's Kagome?" he asked immediately.

"She just fell asleep." Miroku responded. "I was amazed. Usually people find it hard to sleep while in pain."

Inuyasha smiled. He knew that it was Lady Lei's hand work and muttered a silent thank you to her. The only thing that scared him more then losing Kagome, was seeing her in pain.

He sat down by her side and pored the potion into her mouth. "What is that?" Kaede asked.

"It's a potion that Lady Lei gave me. It will make Kagome better."

"How long will it take to work?" Sango asked.

"She said, about a day."

They all looked at Kagome. Much to their relief, Kagome's breathing became steady and normal. It looked like she wasn't having a hard time with it anymore.

"Thank god." Sango muttered. "She'll be alright."****

xxx End Of Chapter Thirteen xxx

I'm sorry this chapter is so short. My next one will be longer. I just feel really drained of my writing abilities.

If you guys could send me some magic, energizing, waves through the reviews, that would be great. 


	14. Sango's Question

Disclaimer: We all watch Inuyasha, so in a way, don't we all own a little bit of it. No. No we don't.

****

Notes to my reviewers : Thanks for all the magical waves, they gave me the jump start I needed.

Inufreak831 - At least I'm not alone when it comes to my writers block. We should make a support group or something

Captured Moon - I hope you enjoyed your camping trip. I used to go camping all the time when I was little, but for some reason, my family never goes anymore. I'm glad you read my story before you left. It made me feel important.

Eekolie - Your review made me cry (happy tears). You are sooooo nice.

****

Chapter Fourteen : Sango's Question

Kagome opened her eyes and looked around the dark room. It was lit by only a fire in the center of the room. She moved her head a little bit so she could see around her. Miroku and Sango were sleeping next to each other, Shippo and Kaede seemed to be in a different room, and Inuyasha was sitting / sleeping next to her. His hand was still on her shoulder.

"Inuyasha." She whispered. She meant to call his name a little louder, but her mouth felt really dry.

Inuyasha's eyes shot open, like he hadn't meant to fall asleep in the first place. He looked down at Kagome. His face brightened when he saw that her eyes were open.

"Kagome. How are you feeling?"

"Better then before." She used as an answer. She didn't feel extremely sick, but she also didn't feel 100% better. "Could you get the bottle of water from my back pack?"

He reached over and grabbed the bottle while Kagome tried to sit up. "You shouldn't do that." Inuyasha said as he handed her the bottle.

She waited till she drank almost all the water before answering him. "I don't want to be on the hardwood floor." She set the bottle down then crawled into Inuyasha's lap.

Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes, now that he knew she would be safe he didn't have any trouble falling asleep.

Sango was the first one to wake up in the morning. The first thing she saw was Kagome and Inuyasha sleeping together. _How cute_ she thought. She sat there for a few minutes, just looking at the peaceful looks on their faces before standing up and walking outside.

It was earlier in the morning then she thought. Barely anyone was awake. She took in a breath a fresh air, she was so happy Kagome was better. She wanted to take those stupid arrows and burn them send them straight to hell. _I wonder if inanimate objects can go to hell_ she thought.

She was to busy thinking about the fresh air, the early morning, and whether or not inanimate object could go to hell that she didn't hear Miroku walking up behind her. Until he kissed her cheek.

"Miroku. You're awake." She hugged him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah. Kagome looks a lot better doesn't she."

"Yeah. I'm so glad. Inuyasha was really worried about her."

"I know."

She let go of him and they started to walk hand in hand through the small village. People were just starting to wake up. Small children were running around and playing while the adults went about with the morning chores.

"Have you thought about where we're going to live once we get married?" Miroku asked.

Sango, in fact, hadn't thought about it at all. "I don't know." She said. "Somewhere quiet."

"Sounds good."

Sango looked down at her left hand. Kagome told her about women wearing rings on a certain finger. One for being engaged and one for getting married. "Miroku?"

"What?"

"Could I have -" she was a little hesitant to ask, "Could I have a ring?"

"A ring? For what?"

"Kagome told me that, in her time, when women are about to get married, they wear a ring on one of their fingers."

"Which one?"

"I can't remember, but I would just love to have a ring."

Miroku kissed her forehead. "For you anything."

****

xxx Kaede's House xxx

Kagome opened her eyes and looked up at Inuyasha. His eyes were still closed, so she tried not to move around a whole lot. She didn't want to wake him up. Shippo walked slowly into the room, his eyes were fixed on the spot Kagome had been sleeping in earlier that night, and was surprised to see it was empty.

"Good morning?" Kagome whispered.

He looked up at her and smiled. "Kagome, you're alright." He whispered back.

"Yeah."

"Why are we whispering?" he asked, still in a whisper.

"I don't want to wake Inuyasha up."

"I'm already awake." Inuyasha's voice scared Shippo and Kagome.

"How long?" Kagome asked, in her normal voice.

"A while." He opened his eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was comfortable." He said. He hugged Kagome a little tighter then kissed her cheek. "You scared us."

"Sorry."

"Hey Kagome!" Shippo said suddenly. "How many days till your birthday?"

"I don't know, how many days was I blacked out?"

"Only one." Inuyasha answered.

"Then " she counted on her fingers "Four."

"Four days!" Inuyasha said "Shit."

"Inuyasha!" Kagome lightly punched him in the arm.

"Sorry Shippo." He rolled his eyes.

"What's so bad about four days?"

Inuyasha rubbed the spot on his arm, it didn't really hurt, but he wanted Kagome to feel guilty so she would kiss it and make it better. "You hurt me." He tried to look at her with sad puppy' eyes.

It worked, Kagome leaned down a little bit and kissed the spot that she hit him. "Now tell me, what is so wrong with four days."

"I'm human in four days."

Kagome tilted her head back, "So you'll be human on my birthday."

"Yeah." He grumbled.

"Kagome." Kaede walked into the room "It's good to see that you're better."

Kagome blushed a little bit. Having Kaede seeing her sitting in Inuyasha's lap felt weird. Like she was making out with him in front of her parents or something, just a nagging feeling that she was doing something she wasn't supposed to.

Much to Inuyasha's disappointment she slipped out of his lap. "Yes." She smiled up at Kaede.

"Did the tea help at all?"

Kagome tried to think back. The tea must have been that hot liquid someone poured down her throat. "Yes. It offered a little bit of relief."

"Good morning Kagome." Sango and Miroku walked into the room.

"And just where were you two?" Inuyasha crossed his arms and tried to sound serious.

"Do you honestly care?" Sango said.

"No. Not really."

They all laughed. Kaede started cooking a breakfast for the while she listened to the happy conversation they were having. Everyone had seemed so depressed lately, it was nice to hear laughter.

After they were done eating Sango tapped Kagome on the shoulder "Come on Kagome. I have something I need to ask you." The two girls walked out, leaving everyone a little confused.

"Where are they going?" Inuyasha asked Miroku (expecting him to know).

"You got me."

Inuyasha looked at Shippo, "Why don't you follow them."

"Alright." Shippo was happy to oblige. He hated sitting around and doing nothing.

Once they were gone Miroku turned to Kaede, whom was cleaning up after breakfast. "Kaede, do you know where I could buy some jewelry?"

"Sorry Miroku. I haven't gone shopping for jewelry since I was a young girl."

"Must have been ages ago." Inuyasha mumbled. Afterwards he had to dodge a cup that Kaede threw at him, but he knew it was all in fun.

"What do you need jewelry for anyway?" he asked Miroku.

"It was something Sango said."

"What did she say?"

"Kagome told her that in her time, when girls were going to get married, they wore a ring on a certain finger."

"A ring. You need a ring."

"Yeah."

Inuyasha bit his lower lip. He had the ring that he originally got for Kagome as a birthday present, but he also knew that Miroku probably couldn't afford a fancy ring.

"I guess you could give her the ring I got."

Miroku looked at Inuyasha. "I meant a ring for girls."

"It is." Inuyasha said angrily. "I got if for Kagome, but you could give it to Sango."

"But what will you give Kagome for her birthday?"

"I have something else."

"You would do that for me."

"Sure,"

"You're a good friend Inuyasha, even if you won't admit it."****

xxx Sango and Kagome xxx

Sango held on to Kagome's hand tightly as they ran through the village. She didn't stop till they were somewhere near the river, she wanted to talk with Kagome privately.

"Sango. What do you want to ask me?" Kagome was bent over, trying to catch her breath.

"I wanted to ask you something that Kaede brought up a while ago."

Kagome looked at Sango. Her expression worried her. It looked sad, like someone died. "What?"

"When we get the jewel back, all in one piece, what will you do?"

"What do you mean?"

Sango sat down on the grass and Kagome joined her. "Once the jewel is whole, will you simply go back to your time and never come back."

Kagome tilted her head to the side. She had never thought about it before. She figured these times would go on forever. "I don't know. I guess that would make since, I belong in my era."

Sango took a sharp, but deep, breath in.

"But, it really depends on Inuyasha."

"Inuyasha?"

"Yeah." Kagome was about to go into further detail, but they both heard a twig snap. "What was that?"

"I don't know, let check it out."

They searched through the bushes for a little while, but didn't find anything. "Maybe it was a squirrel — or something." Sango suggested.

"I guess."

"Do you think the guys are worried about us?"

"Maybe." Kagome said "Do you want to head back to Kaede's house."

"Yeah."

The two of them started walking in the direction of the village, but Kagome stopped when she saw someone sitting high up in a tree. "Who is that?" she whispered to Sango.

"I don't know."

The two girls tried to ignore it, but whoever it was, they kept following them. Finally Kagome turned sharply and faced the person up in the tree. "Who are you?" She yelled out.

The body jumped a little closer and Kagome could just barely make out that it was, Kouga. "What are you doing here Kouga?"

He jumped out of the tree after Kagome recognized him. "I've come to talk with you and Inuyasha."

"No Kouga. You always cause trouble when you're around." Kagome said firmly.

"I won't this time. It has to do with the jewel."

Sango faced Kouga "What about the jewel?"

Kouga just ignored Sango and kept his attention on Kagome. "If you let me sit down with you, Inuyasha, and the rest of your group, I'll gladly tell you."

Kagome hesitated. She didn't want Inuyasha and Kouga to be anywhere near each other, but any information regarding the jewel had to be heard. Even if it was from Kouga. "You can go to Kaede's house with me." She said "But if you and Inuyasha try to fight "

"I understand Kagome, just show me where Kaede's house is."

****

xxx Kaede's House xxx

Miroku sat alone in the room while waiting for Inuyasha to get back. He had told him earlier that he was going to get the ring out of it's hiding spot. _I wonder where he hid it_ Miroku thought to himself.

He suddenly sat up straight and slapped the back of his neck when he felt something bite him.

"Ah." He heard the faint cry of whatever it was.

"What bit me?" he asked out loud. He turned around and saw Myouga laying on the floor where he fell.

"Myouga! You had better not let Inuyasha see you."

"Why?"

"Kagome was in trouble and we needed you. Where were you anyway."

"I was just exploring the land."

Inuyasha stepped into the room and wondered who Miroku was talking to. He looked at the spot on the ground that Miroku's words were directed at and saw that stupid flea.

"Myouga!" Inuyasha yelled out. He took big steps and walked quickly over the small bug and stomped on him as hard as he could. "Where the hell were you? We needed you here!"

"I'm sorry Lord Inuyasha." Myouga apologized. "I'll remember to stay near next time."

"You had better as hell remember!"

"Inuyasha, I think he took enough of a beating." Miroku started to feel bad the little bug.

Luckily for Myouga, Shippo came running into the room. "Did you follow the girls?" Miroku asked.

"Yeah."

"What did Sango want to ask Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, he was now sitting next to Miroku.

"Sango asked Kagome if she would stay in this time, or go back to her own time once the jewel is whole."

Miroku and Inuyasha were silent for a few moments. "I've never given that any thought." Miroku said.

Inuyasha nodded his head, "What did Kagome say?"

"She said it depends on you."

Inuyasha grew a little confused, "Why would it be up to me." He closed his eyes and thought back to the day Kagome asked him if he still wanted to be a demon. Then he remembered her saying something like if you're full demon, I'll take the jewel and go into my time for good.'

"Shit. I know what she means." Inuyasha mumbled.

Kagome slowly poked her head in the door way. "Inuyasha, remember that promise you made me."

"What promise."

"The promise that you wouldn't get jealous anymore."

"You remember that. I figured you would have forgotten, due to the whole almost being dead thing."

"Nope, I remember every word."

"What about it?" Inuyasha started to get a little suspicious.

"I'm going to hold you to it."

"I know."

"Starting now."

"Alright."

Kagome walked the rest of the way in, followed by Sango. Both the girls had their eyes fixed on Inuyasha. He thought they were acting really wired, until Kouga walked in.

"Kouga!" Inuyasha screamed, "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Inuyasha! Watch your language around Shippo." Sango said.

Inuyasha ignored Sango and stood up to face Kouga. "Get out. I don't want you around Kagome."

Kagome placed her hand on Inuyasha's shoulder and started to whisper something in his ear. Nobody could hear what she was saying, but whatever it was it worked. Inuyasha calmed down and sat down.

Kagome gestured for everyone else, even Kouga, to do the same and they all obliged. Something about the way Kagome took hold of the situation created a new found respect for her.

"Now." Kagome said, when everyone was quiet, "Kouga told me he had something to tell us. And I told him we would all listen, so we're going too." She directed the last statement at Inuyasha.

"Feh." Was his only response. Kagome knew that his pride was hurt, so she scooted across the floor and sat next to him. He wrapped his arm around her waist, as a way of letting Kouga know for sure that she was taken.

"Go on Kouga." Kagome said "What do you have to tell us."

****

xxxxx

Have you ever had a day where ... you wern't in a bad mood, but you wern't in a good mood. You really wern't anything. That's how I feel right now.

I would like umm 6 reviews.

Lots of love Daydreamer62386

****

: )


	15. Shippo And The Stupid Tree

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, but later tonight I'm going to dress in all black, sneak out, and kidnap all the characters, then hide them all in my basement. That way, I really will own them. Don't worry they'll be treated kindly, they just won't ever get to see the light of day again (evil laugh).

****

Notes to my reviewers: How do you spell Kikyou's name. Sometimes I see it spelled 'Kikyou' and sometimes I see it spelled 'Kikyo'.

_Captured Moon :_ I'm sorry camp sucked. If it will make you feel better, I tried to put a lot of Shippo in this chapter. Enjoy.

_KiLaLa, Kagome's Daughter :_ I read what you think is going to happen, and you're only half right. Kikyou and Kagome have most of the jewel, but there is still one shard that isn't accounted for. Of course, that comes up later in my story.

_Inuyasha-my-lover: _I didn't know that I left chapter 14 at a cliffy ... sorry.

_Inufreak831 _: Shit. I have to think of a gift for Inuyasha to give Kagome. I had something in mind, but it isn't as thoughtful as it should be. Now I'm nervous.

****

Chapter Fifteen : Shippo And The Stupid Tree

Kagome sighed and shook her head when Inuyasha wrapped his arm around her. She wasn't complaining about it, but she could tell that he was just trying to show Kouga that she was taken. _He's hopeless_ she thought

"Go on Kouga." She said "What do you have to tell us."

Kouga stopped staring at Inuyasha and looked at Kagome. "I was near a spot in the mountains that had a demon running around."

"What kind of demon?"

"A wind one, I think. Anyway, I figured it must have a hold of a jewel shard. It kinnda came out of nowhere."

"Why did you come to me? Why didn't you just defeat the demon yourself?" The conversation stayed between Kagome and Kouga.

"Your supposed to be the true owner of the Shikon jewel right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I thought you should know. If you don't want to go after the demon "

"No — we really should go." Kagome sighed. She was almost used to the idea of not having to fight demons anymore. "Where was the last place you saw it?"

"Why don't I stay with your group for a little while, and show you where it is."

"No." Kagome said instantly. That surprised everyone a little bit (even Inuyasha who would have said the same thing.), usually she was really nice to people who wanted to help them.

"What?"

"No."

"Why not."

"Because, you and Inuyasha will be at each others throats all the time."

Kouga stared at Inuyasha, he couldn't argue about that. "I'll try to control myself, if that mutt promises to do that same."

Inuyasha growled a little bit. "See Kouga," Kagome said sharply "You're already causing trouble."

"Fine. I'm sorry." Kouga mumbled.

"What about your clan? Won't they wonder where you are?"

"They already know about what's going on?"

"Really?"

"Really. So can I join your group, it will only be for a few days."

Kagome closed her eyes and leaned on Inuyasha. "I don't know. It's Inuyasha's decision."

"What?" Sango, Miroku, and Kouga said at the same time.

Inuyasha looked at Kouga with disbelief. It was his decision. With all intentions of saying no, he smiled and glanced at Kagome. Her eyes were still closed, she was waiting for Inuyasha's answer.

He stared at Kagome for a few more seconds, then looked up at Kouga. "- sure." He practically whispered.

Kagome's eyes flew open and she lifted her head up. Neither she nor Kouga expected him to say yes. "What did you just say?" she asked. _Maybe I didn't hear him right_.

"I said sure. Kouga can come along, but only until we find the demon."

"Are you sure?" Kagome whispered to him.

"Yes." He whispered back.

She kissed his cheek (Kouga faintly growled) and stood up. "I guess that settles it. Kouga, you can stay with us, but only for a little while."

"When are we going to leave?" he asked.

"I don't know."

Sango decided to join the little group' discussion. "I think we should leave after Kagome's birthday."

"Birthday?" Kouga glanced between Kagome and Sango. "Your birthday?"

Kagome put her hands up to her forehead when she heard the voice again, _Kagome Kagome_. The voice was starting to give her a headache. "Sango, are you sure you want to wait that long?"

"Yeah. We can have a little party for you here. Plus you could visit your family, have dinner with them, or something."

Kagome couldn't argue with that. Her mom was probably hoping for a visit from her anyway. "Alright." She said.

Kaede's house was filled with a very uncomfortable silence, so Shippo jumped into Kagome's arms. "Do you want to watch my lesson, today."

"Sure."

Inuyasha originally wasn't going to give Shippo a lesson today, but he didn't want to embarrass him in front of everyone by saying no. So he got up, handed the ring to Miroku (without Sango or Kagome noticing) and led the way to an open area.

Kagome sat back by a tree while Inuyasha showed Shippo better ways to perform moves. He showed him how to bend his legs a certain way to gather up more speed when he jumped in the air. He also showed him a way to put more force behind his kicks and punches without using much space or energy, apparently it was the speed of your hand.

"Practice that for a little while." Inuyasha said, then he sat down next to Kagome. "Are you feeling ok?" he asked her.

"Yeah." She was feeling better and better as the day went on. "How did you guys get the poison out of me?"

"Lady Lei gave me a potion to give to you."

"Oh."

"Inuyasha!" Shippo yelled out "Am I doing this right?"

"No." he yelled back "Lift your leg up higher."

"Hey, Inu. Why did you let Kouga stay?"

"Do you want him to leave?"

"I don't care, but I expected you to tell him to stay far away from us."

Inuyasha leaned back on the tree and kept his eyes on Shippo. "It was just something I read when I was at Lady Lei's house."

"Oh."

"Shit, I was supposed to ask you something."

"What?"

"I can't remember." Inuyasha scratched his head and tried to remember, "Something about a a damn it!"

"I'm sure it will come to you later." Kagome said as Shippo came running over to them.

His voice sounded a little winded, but he didn't show any sign of being tired. "Inuyasha, I practiced everything. Did you see any mistakes?"

"No. You had everything down pretty good. Do you want to try the tree again."

"Yeah!" Shippo jumped in the air, then he and Inuyasha walked over to a different tree. Kagome stayed a distance away, she didn't want to get hit by any wood chips.

Inuyasha squatted down next to where Shippo was standing. He could tell the little guy was starting to get nervous. "Are you going to take a running start."

"Yeah." He concentrated on the tree in front of him then started running. His eyes closed and he gritted his teeth. When he got to the tree he felt the sharp, but familiar, pain going through his arm.

He screamed out, but it was mainly for frustration. He still couldn't even dent the tree. "Let me look at that." Inuyasha had appeared at his side and grabbed his hand.

"Don't worry you'll be fine." He said after examining it. "Why don't you try again."

"I'll just get hurt again. I hate that stupid tree."

"Don't worry." He said "But this time, don't close your eyes."

"Alright." Shippo walked a few feet away from the tree and Inuyasha went to stand next to Kagome.

Shippo once again concentrated on the spot on the tree. He started to run and almost closed his eyes again, but remembered what Inuyasha said. He stiffened his arm and ran as fast as he could, all the while keeping his eyes open and on the spot he was supposed to hit.

He was really surprised when his hand and the tree made contact. Instead of a sharp pain his fist went through it. Instead of just denting the tree, like he originally expected, his hand actually went halfway through it.

Wood chips went flying everywhere and despite how far away the two of them were standing, Inuyasha still had to put his hand up to protect Kagome's face from them.

"Good job runt!" Inuyasha yelled out.

Shippo came running towards them. "I did it Inuyasha, now I get to use Tetsusaiga!"

"That's right."

Kagome patted Inuyasha on the shoulder. "I'm gonna check on Sango and Miroku. I really should make sure Kouga isn't bother them too much."

"Alright."

"Good luck Shippo." Kagome said. She kissed Inuyasha on the cheek then started to walk in the direction of Kaede's house.

Inuyasha watched her leave then turned to Shippo. "Are you sure you're ready to use Tetsusaiga?"

"Yeah." It was the one thing he had been looking forward to for the last few weeks.

Inuyasha held out his Tetsusaiga for Shippo to grab, but for some reason he hesitated. Instead of just picking up the weapon he first ran his fingers along the smooth side of the blade until he came to the handle.

"You hold it like this." Inuyasha said as he guided Shippo's fingers so they were holding the Tetsusaiga in the right way.

Shippo held on to the Tetsusaiga as tightly as he could then stood in the fighting position that Inuyasha always stood in.

"First," Inuyasha said "Don't hold it as tightly."

Shippo loosened his grip.

"Second, you should stand with your legs so far apart. It will be to easy to loose your balance."

"Ok." He tried remember all the new things Inuyasha was telling him.

"Now, lift it above your head, and swing it down towards the ground."

Shippo held the Tetsusaiga above his head like Inuyasha said, then cut through the air with all the strength he had in his arms. He was happy at the size of the whole he made in the ground, but knew that it wasn't nearly as deep as Inuyasha could have made it.

"Good job runt, why don't you try again."

Shippo nodded. He put a lot of effort into lifting Tetsusaiga above his head again, but he lifted it a little too fast. It took Inuyasha off guard and he got hit in the nose.

"Sorry Inuyasha." Shippo said, holding back a laugh.

Inuyasha felt his nose. It didn't hurt that much, but he wanted to make sure it wasn't broken. "Yeah, I'm sure you are." He mumbled sarcastically. "This time try jumping up and swinging Tetsusaiga through the air."

Inuyasha continued to teach Shippo different moves and the best way to use Tetsusaiga until the sun started going down. "I think we should start leaving." Inuyasha suggested. Shippo tried not to yawn after he said that, but he couldn't hold it back.

"Do you want a ride or something?" he suggested.

Shippo nodded and jumped into Inuyasha's arms. At first he thought it was odd that Inuyasha was carrying him, usually he just made him walk, but he brushed off the thought and started to drift off to sleep.****

xxx Kaede's House xxx

"I think I hear them coming." Sango said.

Kagome lifted up her head and saw Inuyasha walking towards them with Shippo sleeping in his arms.

"He worked really hard, but I think he used up all his energy." Inuyasha said before walking inside Kaede's house and putting Shippo in his little bed.

"Wow," Sango said as soon as Inuyasha came back out of the house, "you'll make a great Dad, Inuyasha."

"Dad?" Inuyasha said and everyone turned to looked at Kagome. She blushed and buried her face into her hands from embarrassment.

"I meant," Sango said hastily. "Someday. You'll make a good Dad _someday_, Inuyasha."

Kagome still couldn't bring herself to look up at everyone. The way everyone looked at her when Sango said the word dad' made her feel like she was standing butt naked in the middle of a crowed.

"Here Inuyasha," Miroku said, "We saved you some food, from dinner."

"I'm not that hungry."

"But Kagome cooked it." Sango said.

"That doesn't mean he has to eat it." Kagome's muffled voice could be heard through her hands.

"Kagome, don't be so embarrassed." Inuyasha said.

She lifted up her head, it was still a little red. "I'm gonna take a bath." She said, then stood up.

"I'll join you." Sango said, then she and Kagome walked towards the river. Miroku yawned and headed for the house.

"Night, Inuyasha." He mumbled.

Inuyasha didn't respond. He was about to jump into the tree, but he noticed Kouga sitting some distance away. "Don't you sleep?" he yelled out.

Kouga looked up at him, "I'm keeping a look out."

"For what?"

"I don't know demons I guess. Ones that will attack the village."

"This village has a ton of spells on it. A demon would have a really hard time attacking it."

"Hey, I can never be too safe when it comes to Kagome's security."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Why do you want Kagome to be your mate?"

Kouga gave Inuyasha a curious look, "Because I love her."

"Do you really or are you just interested in her because she can see the jewel shards?"

"That's silly."

"Well, you've never spent any time with her. You don't know what her favorite color is, what kind of food she likes to eat, what makes her mad — you hardly know anything about her."

"I -" Kouga didn't know what to say. It was true. He knew so little about Kagome.

"Is it just me, or are you two having a civilized conversation." Kagome had appeared a few feet away from them.

"It's just you." Kouga mumbled. Inuyasha shook his head then jumped into the tree.

"What about me?" Kagome said.

"What?"

"Aren't you going to help me up?"

"You still want to sleep in the tree, even after the last time?"

"Yeah. The ankle injury was worth it."

Inuyasha smiled and helped Kagome into the tree. She sat in his lap and rested her head on his chest. Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her, holding a little tighter this time and fell asleep.

The whole time Kouga was on the ground watching them. He gritted his teeth and kept telling himself over and over again, _This will only last for a few more days_.

****

xxx Next Morning xxx

Shippo climbed up the tree that Inuyasha and Kagome were sleeping in. He woke up first and had nothing to do, so he thought maybe he and Inuyasha could practice more moves or something.

He carefully stepped around Kagome (not wanting to wake her up) and pulled sharply on Inuyasha's ear.

"Fuck." Inuyasha jerked awake. "What the hell was that for?" he almost yelled, but remembered that Kagome was still sleeping.

"Inuyasha, I'm bored."

Inuyasha growled and, while still holding onto Kagome, lifted one hand and pushed Shippo out of the tree. Then he closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

Shippo sat on the ground under the tree. Kouga wasn't that far away from him, but he didn't like Kouga very much, so he didn't bother going to him for entertainment. He gave up on the thought of Inuyasha coming around and turned towards Kaede's house.

He smiled when he saw Sango walk out. "Good morning Shippo." She smiled at him.

"Morning Sango."

"I'm gonna go get some fresh water from the river, do you want to come?"

"Yeah." Shippo ran to the back of Kaede's house and grabbed two buckets then joined Sango at her side.

"Ready?"

"Ready." Shippo repeated.

They walked past Kagome and Inuyasha silently and tried to ignore Kouga's stares as they walked past him.

"I wonder why Inuyasha let Kouga stay." Shippo said once they were out of his ear shot.

"I have no idea, I was expecting him to say no."

"Yeah, whenever Kouga's around Inuyasha always acts really jealous."

Sango snapped her fingers, "Maybe he's trying to prove to Kagome that he can keep his promise."

"What promise?"

"Inuyasha promised Kagome that he wouldn't get jealous anymore."

Shippo bent over and started laughing hysterically, "Inuyasha — not jealous!"

His laughter continued until the were finally at the river and she splashed water on him, "Be nice, I'm sure he'll try."

They filled up their buckets and turned around to see that Miroku had been following them. "Miroku." She walked over and kissed him "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah." He smiled at her. "I have a present for you."

"Really?"

Shippo shook his head, he hated it when people got lovie dovie'.

Miroku held out two fist, "Pick one."

Sango bit her bottom lip and tapped his left hand, but he shook his head, so she tapped his right hand. When he opened it, Sango saw the gold ring with one diamond and two emeralds.

"Oh Miroku!" Sango covered her mouth, she had never seen a more beautiful ring in her entire life.

"What finger is it supposed to go on?" he asked.

"I — I don't know." She was having a hard time talking.

"Why don't you two just ask Kagome." Shippo suggested.

Sango nodded and carefully examined the ring as all three of them walked back to Kaede's house. "Where in the world did you get this?"

"Inuyasha helped me find it." He rubbed the back of his neck. He knew that Sango would never except the ring if she knew it was originally for Kagome.

"I'll have to thank Inuyasha then, too." She linked her free arm in Miroku's and watched Shippo run ahead of them.

****

xxx Kaede's House xxx

Inuyasha pretended to be asleep until he felt Kagome lift her head up, "Morning." He said.

She rubbed her eyes and kissed him, "Good morning." She carefully climbed down from the tree and walked into Kaede's house. She expected to see Sango, Miroku, and Shippo, but was surprised to see that everyone was gone, except Kaede.

"Where is everyone?" she asked.

"Sango and Shippo went to get some water and Miroku followed them."

"Alright." She stretched, her back was still a little sore from sleeping in a tree all night. _Oh well_ she thought _I'll get to sleep on a mattress in a few days_.

Kaede started mixing some food for breakfast, "Do you need help?" Kagome asked.

"No child. You go outside and keep Inuyasha and Kouga from killing each other."

Kagome groaned and walked out of the house. "Inuyasha!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.

"What!" he yelled back. He hadn't moved from his spot in the tree.

Kagome smiled. _ Might as well wake up the whole village_ "Why aren't you down from the tree yet!"

"Cause I'm comfortable!" he started laughing.

"Shut up." They heard someone yell out from the neighboring houses. Even Kouga couldn't hide his laughter when they heard that. Sango, Miroku, and Shippo walked over to them wondering what was so funny, but they didn't question it.

"Kagome. I need to ask you something."

"What?" Kagome turned towards Sango.

"What finger does this ring go on." She ran up to Kagome holding out her left hand and the ring at the same time.

"This one." Kagome pointed, "Oh my god. That ring is beautiful."

Inuyasha frowned. Now that he knew Kagome liked the ring, he regretted giving it away. He jumped down from the tree and walked over to Kagome's side.

"Inuyasha. I should be thanking you too." She hugged him tightly.

Inuyasha looked at Kagome and held his hands high in the air, trying to say she's hugging me, I'm not hugging her.' Kagome smiled and shook her head.

Kouga growled, "Why is Inuyasha allowed to hug other women, but Kagome can't hug other men."

"Inuyasha is not hugging Sango. Sango is hugging Inuyasha." Kagome said.

Sango let go at Inuyasha and stepped away from him, as if he was now toxic. "Sorry Inuyasha."

"Everyone," Kaede stepped out of the house. "Its breakfast time."

****

xxx End of Chapter Fifteen xxx

I could really go for some hot soup right about now, I think I'll go get some. I will absolutely not post the next chapter till I see, at least, 5 reviews on my computer. See you guys later.

I don't know if Kaede's village really has a bunch of spells on it, I just thought it would be a good way to make my chapter longer. So, don't get mad if I'm wrong.

Lots of love Daydreamer62386


	16. Kagome's Hiding Spot

Disclaimer : I went to the spot where all the Inuyasha characters were. They were all running around trying to catch a butterfly. They all seemed so happy that I couldn't bring myself to kidnap them. So I still don't own Inuyasha or any of the characters.

****

Notes to my reviewers:

Captured Moon : I knew you'd like that chapter. I know you (along with everyone else) are wondering about Kouga being good or bad, so I'll let you know. Kouga is ... umm (how should I put this?) Kouga is bad, but in a good way. I know that doesn't make any sense, sorry.

CrazyOtaku04: What a small world. It's fanfiction.net that sustains me till every Saturday too.

Kat14 : OMG, I love your suggestion

InuYasha grls : I've never thought about it before, but I really do love writing this story. I guess that's why some of my chapters are really long. A couple of times I actually had to tell myself to stop. I love your motto and I'm going to follow it from now on.

****

Chapter Sixteen : Kagome's Hiding Spot

Kagome, Sango, Miroku, Inuyasha, and Shippo sat down in the middle of the room so they could eat the soup that Kaede had made for them. Inuyasha tried to sit next to Kagome, but Shippo was already on one side and Sango was sitting comfortably on the other.

"Damn." He mumbled then sat down next to Miroku, so he was at least facing Kagome.

Kaede filled up seven bowls with her soup and passed them around. Kagome was the one who ended up with a second bowl in her hand. She glanced around at everyone while they ate, then finally asked. "Where's Kouga?"

Inuyasha ignored the question and continued eating, he could care less about where Kouga was. It was Sango who answered her. "I think he's outside."

Kagome stood up and took Kouga's bowl outside. When she stepped into the sun, she saw Kouga sitting by the same tree he had been under that morning.

"Kouga." She called out.

Kouga looked over at Kagome as she started walking towards him. When she reached him she kneeled down next to him and handed him the bowl of soup.

"No thanks." He pushed the bowl away.

"Don't you need to eat?"

He wrinkled his nose a little bit, "Not human food."

Kagome frowned. "You could have at least tried it." She stood up and started to walk away from him.

Kouga could tell he made Kagome mad, so he mentally slapped himself. "Wait." He yelled out. He stood up and grabbed Kagome's arm. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry, for what?"

"For making you mad."

Kagome looked at the spot on her arm that Kouga was holding then back up at his face. "What kind of food do you eat?"

"Why do you want to know?"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Kouga. If you're going to be in our group, even for a few days, we need to know what kind of food you eat."

"I go out and hunt while everyone is sleeping, you don't need to feed me."

Kagome brushed Kouga's hand away then started walking back to Kaede's house. "You know," she said to Kouga with out turning around or looking at him "nobody forced you to stay with us, you can leave anytime you want."

Kouga smiled as Kagome disappeared into the house. She was a very high spirited girl.

Kagome stepped into Kaede's house and let out a sigh. For some reason, Kouga seemed to wear out her nerves faster then Inuyasha usually did. She sat down and leaned on the wall and closed her eyes.

"Are you alright?" Shippo asked. Kagome opened her eyes and saw that everyone was looking at her.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You look tired." Sango said.

"I'm not tired I'm annoyed." Kagome replied.

"Who annoyed you?" Most eyes fell on Inuyasha.

"What did I do!" Inuyasha exclaimed.

"Inuyasha didn't do anything. Kouga annoyed me." She started to rub her templates.****

xxx Later On In The Day xxx

Shippo suggested to them earlier that it would be nice to walk around, take in the sounds, the sunlight, and the smells of the outdoors, that kind of thing. The entire group, including Kouga, walked down to the river played games there for a while.

Kouga hadn't participated in there game of tag, he thought it was stupid. Inuyasha was the one who won it, but he had to argue with Shippo over his title. Shippo said it wasn't a real win, considering that Inuyasha was faster then everyone else. But Inuyasha kept saying that it wasn't his fault he was built with better legs then everyone else.

"So you don't like my legs." Kagome said, pretending to sound hurt, while running her hand along her bare leg.

Inuyasha's mouth fell open a little bit. "Y-your legs look," he gave a fake cough, "just fine." His face turned a little red and Kagome couldn't help laughing.

"Hey Kouga!" Sango yelled out. "Do you want to play a round of tag. I'm sure you would actually give Inuyasha a run for his money."

Inuyasha growled. "I could catch Kouga with one arm tied behind my back."

"Yeah, sure mutt. You go on believing that."

"Last time I checked," Kagome interrupted the two of them, "the jewel shards were taken out of your legs. You're not as fast as you used to be."

Kouga looked down at his legs, he had forgotten that they took the jewels out of his legs. He would have Kagome give them back to him as soon as she was his mate. "I don't want to play such a stupid game anyway."

"I know another game we could play." Shippo said. "Hide and seek. We'll all hide and Kouga can try to find us."

"What do you say Kouga." Sango said.

"No. I'm not the type that plays games."

Kagome put her hands on her hips and looked up at Kouga. "If you're going to be in our group, then at least act like you want to be."

Kouga stared down at her. "Fine. How do I play?"

"You close your eyes, count to a certain number, then try to find us."

"Ok. What number do I count to?"

"100" Shippo yelled out.

"Fine." He closed his eyes and started to count while everyone silently walked away. "One."

"Two."

"Three."

****

xxx A While Later xxx

"Ninety eight."

"Ninety nine"

"One hundred."

When he was done counting he jumped out of the tree and started sniffing the air. It was easy to place their scents. The closest was Sango, Kouga started to run in the direction her scent was coming from.

He found everyone easily. First was Sango, then Shippo, then Miroku, and then Inuyasha. He had saved Kagome for last. The others huddled around each other and tried to think of new spots while Kouga jumped form tree to tree sniffing for Kagome.

He found her hiding inside a tree that had fallen over. She was covering her mouth, to muffle the sound of her breathing, but when she saw Kouga she knew that it was pointless.

Kouga pulled her out of the log. "Found you." He said with a smile.

"Am I the first one you found?"

"No, you're the last."

"Last? How did you find everyone so quick?"

He tapped his nose, "I could smell everyone."

"Smell?" Kagome looked off in the distance, away from Kouga, she had to think of some way to hide her scent. _What was it Inuyasha said I smelt like._

"What's wrong?" Kouga asked.

Kagome shook herself out of her thoughts. "Nothing, I was just thinking."

Kouga looked down at Kagome's face, he liked the look she got when she was concentrating. He leaned down in an attempt to kiss her, but Kagome saw what he was trying to do and took a few steps back.

"Kouga." She said. "T-the others will want to know where I am."

"You're right." He turned away from Kagome to hide his embarrassment from the rejection.

Kagome and Kouga walked together to the spot where the other ones were. "Ok." Kouga yelled "I found everyone."

"I could have found everyone quicker." Inuyasha said.

__

Do those two always compete with each other Sango thought to herself.

"Fine." Shippo said "You can be the next seeker. Count to 100."

Inuyasha sat on the ground in his dog position and closed his eyes, "One."

"Two."

"Three."

****

xxx A While Later xxx

"Fifty eight."

"Fifty nine."

"Sixty."

Inuyasha opened his eyes. He didn't see any point to going all the way to one hundred. He figured that everyone was already hidden.

He found Miroku hiding in the same broken tree that Kagome had been in earlier. Sango was found with Shippo behind some giant rocks, and Kouga was up in a tree. The only one who Inuyasha couldn't find was Kagome.

"Can't you smell her?" Miroku asked.

Inuyasha sniffed the air, but he couldn't. For some reason, he couldn't pick up her scent. "No. I can't"

"You must have a weak nose." Kouga laughed. He then took a big whiff of the air, and was surprised to come up with nothing.

Everyone tried yelling out Kagome's name, saying things like the game is over now' or we'd like to go back to Kaede's house now'. Kouga even added in Inuyasha is to stupid to find you.' But he was hit on the back of the head.

A short distance away Kagome had fallen asleep in her hiding spot, so she didn't hear everyone calling her name.

"Does this mean she won?" Kouga asked.

"I guess so."

The entire group looked around for her for a little while. Miroku and Sango searched while Inuyasha, Shippo, and Kouga used their noses. But they still couldn't find her. "Maybe, she's already back at Kaede's house." Miroku suggested.

"Do you want to go back?"

"Yeah." Everyone agreed and they headed for Kaede's house.

Kagome didn't open her eyes until it was dark out. _Shit!_ She thought _Everyone is probably worried about me_. She got up and started running towards Kaede's house. She thought of all the things that would happen when she got there. Either everyone would be worried sick or everyone would be really mad at her. But when she set foot in Kaede's house, something happened that she didn't expect.

Everyone clapped.

"Wow, Kagome." Shippo said "You must be the best hide and seek player ever."

"Why didn't you come out when we called you?" Sango asked.

"I'm sorry, I fell asleep." She sat down next to Inuyasha.

"How did you hide your scent?" Kouga asked.

Kagome looked between Kouga and Inuyasha, "You two couldn't smell me?"

The both shook their heads. Kagome smiled, "I guess my idea worked."

"What idea."

"When Kouga told me he was able to smell me, I tried thinking of a way to hide my scent."

"How did you?"

Kagome opened her mouth to answer, but closed it quickly. "I don't know if I should tell you. After all, it's my secret."

Inuyasha frowned, he really wanted to know how Kagome was able to hide her scent._ I'll just ask her later_ he thought.

Kaede handed everyone plates of food. Kouga was about to turn his down, but he remembered what Kagome told him and decided that he could, at least, try the it. It wasn't the best thing he had ever tasted, but it also wasn't the worst.

Even though Kagome slept most of the day, she was still tired. She stood up and walked to the base of the tree and sat down to wait for Inuyasha. He came out and sat down next to her instead of just jumping into the tree.

"Kagome, are you sure you want to sleep in the tree?"

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"I'm just worried you'll fall again."

"As long as I got to be with you, a fall would be worth it."

Inuyasha stood up and lifted Kagome into the air, then he jumped onto his favorite branch in the tree. He brought Kagome onto his lap and kissed her. Her lips parted giving him access to enter her mouth. His tongue brushed against hers. When they parted for air Kagome smiled and rested her head against his neck.

They were both silent for a little while, until Inuyasha said, "I remember what I needed to ask you."

She lifted her head up, "What?"

"Lady Lei, told me to ask you about the voice in your head."

Kagome's eyes grew wide, "How did she know about that?"

"Lei knows a lot of stuff, so do you want to tell me about the voice in your head."

Kagome took in a deep breath, then slowly told Inuyasha the whole story. Everything from the time she first heard it to the time her feet felt the need to follow it. The only part she left out, was the fact that she thought it was Kikyou's voice.

"When was the last time you heard it?" Inuyasha asked when she was done with her story.

"Yesterday."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"I told Kaede."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Kagome looked away from Inuyasha, she hated keeping things from him, so now she felt guilty. "I don't think hearing voices in your head is a good thing. I thought you would think I was going insane."

She leaned down and rested her head against his chest, she was getting really tired. Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her and listened to her breathing. When it grew steady he could tell that she had fallen asleep. He kissed the top of her head and eventually fell asleep too.

****

xxx Meanwhile With Kikyou xxx

Kikyou paced her bedroom. She couldn't sleep. Kouga seemed to be taking his merry time, so she was starting to get worried that he would tell everyone their plan. She sat down on a chair and decided to contact him.

She closed her eyes and pressed her finger to her forehead. "Kouga."

Nothing.

"Kouga!"

__

What? he responded

"What is taking so long?"

__

They won't leave until the day after tomorrow

"Why not."

__

They want to leave after Kagome's birthday.

"Do they suspect you?"

__

I don't think so. They think I'll be leading them to a demon with a jewel shard.

Kikyou laughed, that wasn't as far off from the truth as they all thought. "Hurry up. I m getting tired of waiting."

Kouga broke the contact they had, so Kikyou was left with silence. She stood up and moved the window. She looked up at the sky and noticed that the moon was almost gone. _Inuyasha will be human soon_ she thought.

Then a little bit of pain shot threw her heart. She remembered when she wanted Inuyasha to use the jewel to become full human, so they could be together. But she pushed that memory out of her mind. _There is not point in dwelling on the past_.

****

xxx Morning At Kaede's House xxx

Kagome opened her eyes when she felt the warn sun on her skin. Inuyasha was still asleep. She didn't want to wake him up, so she carefully pulled herself out of his arms. It wasn't an easy task. She almost dislocated her shoulder in the process.

When she was free from him, she started to climb down the tree. The morning dew made the bark wet, and she slipped and nearly fell. She held onto the tree as tightly as she could and tried to think of the best way to get this done.

"Do you need help?" She heard someone ask.

She looked down and saw that Kouga was standing a few feet away from the tree. "Yeah."

"Jump, and I'll catch you."

Kagome gave him a yeah right' look, but knew that she had no choice. After a lot of reassurance from Kouga, that he wouldn't drop her, she shut her eyes and let go of the tree.

"See, that wasn't so bad." He said as soon as she landed in his arms.

"Thanks." Kagome said. She had to move out of Kouga's arms when he didn't show any sign of putting her down. With one last glance at Inuyasha, she started to walk to Kaede's house.

"Don't'!" Kouga yelled out.

"Don't' what?" Kagome turned around and faced him.

"Don't go in there."

"Why?"

"They told me to make sure that you don't go in there until later."

"Why?"

"They're wrapping their presents for you."

Kagome blushed. She didn't think everyone would make such a big deal about her birthday.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Inuyasha opened his eyes and looked down at Kagome and Kouga. He didn't like them being alone like that, but he promised Kagome that he wouldn't be jealous, so he didn't make any sounds or movements to show that he was awake.

"How old will you be?"

"16."

"Oh."

"So, what do I do while I'm waiting."

Kouga shrugged. "What do you usually do when you're bored?"

Kagome tried to think, "Most of the time we're busy fighting demons or traveling, so I don't get bored."

Shippo appeared at the door of Kaede's house "Kagome, it's alright to come in now."

Kagome smiled at Shippo and walked into the house. Kouga started to follow, but he stopped and turned when he heard something behind him. Inuyasha had jumped down from the tree.

"Where you awake the whole time?" he asked

"Yeah." Inuyasha started to walk towards Kaede's house. "I was a little surprised."

"At what?"

"The conversation you had with Kagome."

"What was wrong with it."

"Nothing. It sounded like you actually tried to learn new things about her."

Kouga smiled. "Is there something wrong with that?"

Inuyasha didn't answer. In all reality there wasn't anything wrong with it, but he still didn't trust Kouga.

"Last night, I thought about what you said," Kouga continued. "It really is pointless trying to make someone your mate when you hardly know anything about them. So I'm finding out more about her."

Inuyasha growled a little bit, but didn't cause a big argument, they were only a few feet away from the door.

When they walked in Inuyasha saw Kagome standing at one end of the room. She was leaning against the wall with her hands behind her back. She smiled at Inuyasha when he looked over at her.

Inuyasha tilted his head. He thought Kagome look so beautiful with a smile on his face, and he was trying to freeze that image in his mind.

"Kagome." Sango said "Could you take Shippo to the river?"

"Why?" Kagome didn't mind, but she wanted to know why.

"It's going to be a hot day, I think Shippo might want to go swimming or something."

Shippo looked up at Sango "I do?" Inuyasha hit him on the back of the head "I-I mean I do. Kagome would you take me to the river?"

Kagome rolled her eyes "Alright." She grabbed a swimsuit from her backpack and followed Shippo out the door.

Once they were gone everyone sat together and started to think of plans for the little party the were planning for Kagome.

"Kouga," Inuyasha said "you were talking to her last, did it sound like she knew what was going on."

"She knows you guys got her presents, but I don't think she knows about a party."

"Good."

****

xxx Meanwhile With Kagome And Shippo xxx

Kagome shook her head as they walked away from the house. "I wonder what my party will be like."

Shippo was shocked "You knew."

"It wasn't that hard to figure out."

"Do you still want to go swimming."

"I already have a bathing suit."

The two of them started running towards the river. Shippo jumped in first and swam around while Kagome went somewhere to change. Her bikini was solid red, and she felt a little naked in it, but she didn't care that much.

The water was actually warm, it felt really good against her skin. She swam around with Shippo for a little while then got out of the water. She rested on the grass and soaked up the sun while she watched Shippo swim.

"Kagome." She turned around and saw that Inuyasha was standing behind her.

"Hi Inuyasha." She laughed at the way his mouth was handing open, he had never seen a girl in a bikini before. "Are we allowed to go back now, or are you guys still planning my party."

Inuyasha shook his head. "Damn, I thought we had you fooled."

"Nope."

He sat down next to her. "Well, they're not done planning yet. I got kicked out."

"Why?"

"They were deciding what food to cook, and I kept suggesting ramen."

Kagome started laughing.

"Inuyasha! Inuyasha!" Shippo yelled out "Are you going to go swimming."

"No."

"Why not?" Kagome said.

"I don't want too."

Kagome sighed and stood up, she thought that if she went back into the water, then maybe Inuyasha would too. But she was wrong. She swam around for a little while, but Inuyasha just watched from the spot where he sat.

Sango walked up to Inuyasha. "You guys can come back now."

"Ok."

Eventually putting Inuyasha out of her mind, Kagome swam down to the river bed. She was able to hold her breath long enough to run her fingers along the sand and rocks. She was about to go back to the surface when she saw something shiny.

She reached down and grabbed it then headed up for some air. When her head was out of the water Kagome looked at the object in her hand. It was a gold necklace. She took a deep breath, it was so beautiful. She slipped it on her neck and happily got out of the water.

"Hi Sango." She waved when she saw Sango talking to Inuyasha.

Kagome got dressed then walked back to the spot Inuyasha was sitting. "Kagome." Sango said "Where did you get that necklace?"

Inuyasha looked of at the gold chain around her neck.

"I found it at the bottom of the river. Isn't it pretty."

Inuyasha stood up and touched the necklace. In the back of his mind he was complaining. The necklace was supposed to be his gift for Kagome, he figured nobody would look for a present at the bottom of the river.

"Damn it." He mumbled.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'll be right back." He said then jumped off into the woods. He was going to go to the next town over and find Kagome a new gift.

"What was that about?" Sango asked.

"I have no idea."

Shippo, Kagome, and Sango walked back to Kaede's house while talking about random things. They found Miroku sitting outside waiting for them. "What took you so long?"

"We were having a good time." Kagome said back.

Miroku laughed and walked up to her, his smile went away when he saw the necklace around Kagome's neck. "What are you doing with that, I thought Inuyasha would give it to you tomorrow."

"What?"

"That's the necklace Inuyasha said he got as a present for you. Did he give it to you early?"

Kagome slapped her forehead. "Oh. Poor Inuyasha. That's why he was upset."

****

xxx The Next Village With Inuyasha xxx

Inuyasha walked from little store to store. He wanted to find the perfect thing for Kagome. _At least I know she liked my other gifts_ he thought, trying to look on the bright side.

But this time he wanted to get something for Kagome that would set his gift apart from the others. Something thoughtful, but he didn't have any ideas. He kept looking around for a while till he finally saw something that he knew Kagome would love.

****

xxx End Of Chapter Sixteen xxx

I hope you guys liked it. Is it just me, or does it seem like I've been putting Kagome's birthday celebration off. Oh well, it will be in the next chapter.

I want 4 reviews please. (My birthday is in a few days, so if someone could say 'Happy Birthday' to me in a review, I would be really happy.)

- Can any of you guys guess where Kagome hid? I'll tell everyone the answer in the next chapter. I just wanted to see if any of you guys already figured it out.

Lots of love Daydreamer62386


	17. A Birthday And Birthnight

Disclaimer : I thought I'd found the rights to Inuyasha sitting in the bottom of a dusty box, in the back of my closet. However, my hopes were, sadly, crushed when I realized that they weren't. Damn it.

****

Notes to my reviewers: Thanks for all the 'Happy Birthday.'s you guys gave me;

Firefairy : I'm not offended, every story has room for improvement.

Captured Moon : I love your reviews, they're always so funny. Umm your a little off on the Kouga thing. What I ment when I said "he's bad, but in a good way " was ... he's bad, but at some part of my story he'll have a turn around. : )

Inufreak831 : I always thought Inuyasha could just use his good looks to get people to give him stuff. Tee hee.

RmGuccione : I just turned 18 (thanks for asking). Shippo has a great great great great grand father that's human (I think) so he has a drop of human blood in him.

CrazyOtaku04 : I'm your friend! sniff sniff ... I'm so happy.

DreamerJesi : Ding ding ding, you got it.

****

Chapter Seventeen: Kagome's Birthday and Birthnight

Kagome sat outside of Kaede's house with her head resting on her hand. Everyone had gone to bed a while ago, but she wanted to stay up and wait for Inuyasha to get back. He hadn't told her where he was going, so she was starting to get worried.

She closed her eyes. She felt so guilty about finding the necklace that Inuyasha meant to give her as a gift. She started thinking about how beautiful her necklace was. Though something seemed odd. It looked like it was a modern piece of jewelry.

The gold seemed to be polished and bent in a way that she had never seen in this era. Then it hit her like a truck. _Inuyasha probably got it while in my time_. It didn't take her much longer to put the connection between her necklace and the ring Sango got together.

Kagome thought about it or a second. Miroku probably wanted to give Sango a ring, so Inuyasha gave him the ring he intended to give her.

She was surprised when she felt Inuyasha pick her up. She kept her eyes closed and pretended to be asleep while he carried her to the tree. She didn't open her eyes and look up at him until they were both in the tree.

"Did I wake you up?" he asked when he saw her eyes open.

"No." she nuzzled and kissed his neck a little bit. "Inuyasha."

"Hmm?" he enjoyed the feeling of Kagome's kisses.

"I'm sorry I ruined the birthday present you got for me."

"Who told you?"

"Miroku."

"Oh."

Kagome stopped kissing his neck and just rested her head on his shoulder. "I think it was really nice of you to give Miroku that ring."

"You figured it out, huh."

Kagome repositioned herself so that she was straddling his lap. "Inuyasha, you are an wonderful person. I'm a lucky girl."

Inuyasha leaned back and smiled. "Yeah, you are."

Kagome laughed at his ability to sound cocky and leaned in so she could kiss him. Inuyasha put his hand on the back of her neck, so that the kiss would last a little bit longer. When they broke apart Kagome rested her head against his chest and listened to his heart beat until she fell asleep.

****

xxx The Next Morning aka Kagome's Birthday xxx

Shippo tip toed out of Kaede's house to the tree Kagome and Inuyasha were sleeping in. Sango had sent him to go get Inuyasha, but he didn't know how to do it without waking Kagome up.

He sat below them for a few seconds before he got an idea. He picked up a handful of small rocks and started throwing them at Inuyasha.

The first one missed him completely.

The second one hit him, but Inuyasha just tightened his arms around Kagome.

The third one was the one that woke him up. His eyes shot open and he looked down at Shippo, "Go away." He whispered.

"But we need your help."

"With what?"

"Getting Kagome's party ready."

Inuyasha sighed and jumped down for the tree while still holding Kagome. He looked around for a good spot to put her down. After making sure that Kagome was comfortable he followed Shippo into Kaede's house.

"What do you need help with?" he asked.

Sango looked up at him from her spot on the floor. She had been working all morning with Miroku, Shippo and Kaede to get things ready. "Inuyasha. You have a good nose, could you find some flowers to decorate the room with."

"Fine. Where's Kouga? Shouldn't he be helping too."

"He is. Didn't you see him on the roof."

"No."

"It's his job to make sure that Kagome doesn't come in before we're done."

Inuyasha grumbled something about Kouga getting the easy job as he walked out of the house. He started to walk into the woods, but stopped and looked up at the roof. Kouga was sitting up there with his eyes focused on Kagome.

He hated the way Kouga was looking her, but he knew there wasn't anything he could do about it. He growled a little bit, then jumped off into the woods for flowers.

After Inuyasha was gone Kouga jumped down from the roof and sat near Kagome, watching her sleep. He took in a deep breath and leaned down to kiss her. Kagome's eyes fluttered a little bit, but she thought it was Inuyasha, so she kissed him back.

When her eyes did open and she saw that it was Kouga. She screamed. "Kouga! How dare you!" She slapped him as hard as she could and went running into the woods.

Kouga was a little taken back by Kagome's outburst. He rubbed the spot on his face that Kagome slapped and walked into Kaede's house.

"Kouga!" Sango was shocked to see him "You're supposed to be outdoors making sure Kagome doesn't come in."

"I know." He said "She er went for a walk."

Sango raised her eye brows in disbelief. "Ok."

"Do you need any help in here?"

****

xxx With A Very Angry Kagome xxx

Kagome pounded her fist against her sides as she stormed randomly through the forest. She couldn't believe that Kouga had the nerve to kiss her when he knew very well that she was Inuyasha's girlfriend.

She sat down and bit her lip. Her birthday didn't seem to be coming off to a good start. She brought her hand up to her face when she felt hot tears running down it, she had no idea that she had been crying.

"Morning Kagome. I didn't know you were up."

Kagome turned her head and saw Inuyasha standing behind her and was holding a bunch a white flowers. He had a smile on his face, but it disappeared really quickly when he saw that she was crying.

"K-Kagome, what's wrong?" He sat down beside her and put his arm over her shoulder.

She took a deep breath in. "Inuyasha what would you do if Kouga tried to hug me."

"I would knock his lights out. Why? Did he hug you or something?"

Kagome bit her bottom lip, "Umm, no."

"Then why are you crying?"

"I — umm -" she didn't know what Inuyasha would do if he knew Kouga kissed her, so she decided to keep it to herself. "I just hurt my hand this morning. That's all." Kagome felt a pang of guilt, she hated having to lie to Inuyasha. Even though it wasn't a complete lie. She did hurt her hand while slapping Kouga.

Inuyasha looked down at her hand. "How did it get hurt?"

"I hit something really hard, and it hurt my hand."

Inuyasha lifted up her hand and looked at it. "It doesn't look too bad." He said. Then he kissed her palm and each of her fingers. "Better?"

Kagome nodded. Inuyasha lifted up her chin and kissed her.

"Kagome, how did you hide you scent the other day?"

Kagome smiled, "Do you really want to know?"

"Yeah."

"I hid in a bush that was surrounded by wild flowers."

"That's why I didn't smell you, I thought it was the flowers."

Kagome laughed. "Believe it or not, there was actually a point when you were only standing a few feet away from me."

"Hey you guys, Sango said everything is ready." Shippo came running up to them.

"Ok." Kagome stood up and looked down at Inuyasha. "Thanks Inuyasha."

"What did I do?"

"You put me in a good mood."

"Well -" Inuyasha stood up and smiled, but then he caught a scent on the wind.

"What's wrong?"

"I smell smoke."

He started running in the direction the smoke was coming from. He was followed a short distance away by Kagome and Shippo. The all ran till the got to Kaede's house. Inuyasha was relieved to see that it wasn't on fire, but then he began to wonder what was burning.

Sango ran up to Kagome from behind the house. "Happy birthday Kagome!" she yelled throwing her arms around her.

"Thanks Sango. Is something burning?"

"Yeah. The arrows."

"What arrows?"

"The ones that poisoned you."

Inuyasha smirked. "Good."

"Oh." Kagome sounded a little disappointed. "They were really nice arrows."

"They poisoned you!" Inuyasha was shocked.

Kagome just sighed. "I know, but they were so pretty. And they were really sharp. I'll need to find someone who can make them for me."

Inuyasha and Sango were both baffled. They didn't understand why Kagome would want something that almost killed her. Shippo finally tugged on Kagome's sleeve, "Do you want to eat your birthday breakfast, I helped make it."

"Sure Shippo." She picked him up and walked into Kaede's house.

Kagome was amazed at what Kaede's house looked like. Everything was so neat and clean. A meal was set out in the middle of the room. In the coiner opposite of her sat five presents. The walls were even covered with drawings that Shippo made.

"Do you like them?" Shippo asked when he saw that she was looking at them.

"Like them no I love them Shippo. You must have worked really hard on these."

Shippo blushed and jumped out of Kagome's arms. "Come on. Let's eat and open presents."

****

xxx Later xxx

Kagome tried to fit everything she wanted in her backpack. Their meal had lasted most of the day which was followed by presents. The knife that Miroku gave her was tied securely around her waist. She didn't want to put that in her backpack.

Shippo had made her little ear covers out of yarn. He told her that she should wear them when Inuyasha was annoying her, that way she wouldn't hear him. He asked her if they worked when she had them on, and even thought they didn't, Kagome pretended that they did. She didn't want Shippo feeling bad.

Sango gave her some comfortable shoes to walk in, and Kaede gave her a deep green blanket with a white dog and a black cat sleeping together on It.. Kouga handed Kagome some wildflowers and mumbled If I had know ahead of time, I would have gotten you something better.'

When Kagome walked out of Kaede's house she saw that everyone was relaxing in the sun. She watched that image for a little while before walking over to Inuyasha. "Are you ready?" she asked.

They had both decided that it would be best if he stayed in her time tonight. Mainly because Inuyasha didn't want to be around Kouga while he was human.

He nodded. They both said goodbye to everyone then headed for the well.

They were half way to there, when Kagome noticed that Inuyasha was holding something behind his back. "What's that?" she reached for it, but Inuyasha pulled it out of her reach.

"It's your birthday present."

Kagome raised her eyebrows. "Inuyasha, I thought this necklace was my birthday present."

"Well, you found it a day early, so it was just a regular present. This is a birthday present."

"Can I open it now?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because, I want to wait for the right moment."

Kagome laughed and tried to reach for it again, but Inuyasha held it above his head so she couldn't reach. She playfully punched his shoulder. When they reached the well Kagome sat on the edge of it and looked at Inuyasha.

"What are you looking at?" he asked, covering his nose.

"Just, you." She said. "I love your eyes Inuyasha." She leaned back until she finally fell into the well. Inuyasha followed shortly after, wondering what was so special about his eyes.

****

xxx Kagome's Era xxx

Inuyasha accidentally stepped on Kagome foot when they got to her time. She cried out in pain, so Inuyasha carried her out of the well. "I didn't mean too." He said when he put her down.

"I know." She wasn't that upset, the pain only lasted a few seconds, "You've never meant to hurt me."

"Kagome! Kagome!" Souta came running out of he house to give her a hug. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks Souta."

"I didn't know you were coming." Souta turned to Inuyasha.

"Happy birthday Kagome," Kagome's mom walked out of the house "Inuyasha, it's always nice to see you. I'll get some extra food when I go shopping today."

"Thanks."

"Where's Grandpa?" Kagome asked.

"He's inside somewhere." Souta said.

Kagome ran into the house, "Grandpa, where are you?" she yelled out.

"I'm in here. You don't need to make so much noise." He walked from his little room into the hallway. Kagome laughed and gave him a big hug. "Happy birthday child."

"I'm not a child anymore Grandpa."

Her grandfather chuckled. "It always amazes me at how quickly the youth want to grow old."

Kagome laughed. It felt really good to be home. Inuyasha sat in the backyard and watched Kagome and Souta play games. He glanced at the giant tree, he hand never noticed that it was the same one that he was attached too for 50 years. He frowned.

Kagome saw him staring at the tree. "If you want, you can cut it down Inuyasha, but I don't think it's the tree's fault."

Souta had no idea what Kagome was talking about _What did the tree do to make Inuyasha mad at it_ he thought, but put it out of his mind when Kagome suggested a game they play.

The three of them stayed in the backyard until the sun started to go down. Kagome had her back to Inuyasha so she didn't notice his change, but Souta did. He was about to catch the ball that Kagome threw at him, but missed when Inuyasha caught his attention.

"What's wrong?" Kagome asked when she saw the shocked look on her little brother's face. She turned and noticed that Inuyasha's hair was now black, his ears were at the side of his head instead of on top, his claws were gone, and his amber eyes were gone.

"Inuyasha." Kagome smiled "You look different, did you get a new haircut or something?"

"Ha ha, very funny." He said sarcastically.

Kagome's mom opened the door, she looked curiously at Inuyasha, and then told everyone that it was dinner time.

Miss. Higurashi cooked all of Kagome's favorite foods and a little bit a ramen for Inuyasha. They all enjoyed a meal together. When it was over Kagome stood up to help clean but her mom kicked her and Inuyasha out of the room. "It's your birthday, bunny, you shouldn't have to work."

"Did your mom just call you bunny." Inuyasha asked as soon as they were in the living room.

"Yeah." Kagome rolled her eyes.

Souta walked into the room and grabbed the TV remote. "Mom said I could watch some TV before bed."

"Ok." Kagome sat down at one end of the couch and Souta picked a spot on the floor to sit on. Inuyasha laid down on the couch and rested his head in Kagome's lap. "Comfortable?" Kagome said.

Inuyasha looked up at her and smiled. "Yeah."

Kagome giggled a little bit and started to run her fingers threw his hair. She smiled at how soft his hair felt and concentrated on what was playing on television. Her mother came into the room about half an hour later and told Souta it was time for bed.

When Souta was out of the room Kagome's mom looked down at Inuyasha. "Aww, he looks so relaxed."

Kagome looked down at Inuyasha and noticed that he had fallen asleep.

"I'm gonna go to bed now."

"Night mom."

"Night Kagome."

Kagome looked down again at Inuyasha. Even though she didn't want to, she knew she would have to wake him up. She touched his nose lightly, his eyes twitched but he didn't wake up. So she did it again. The second time he opened his eyes and looked up at Kagome. "What do you want with my nose?"

"You fell asleep."

He sat up and rubbed his nose, "So."

"It's getting late."

"That's why you woke me up, to tell me we should go to sleep!"

"Inuyasha, I can't let you sleep with your head on my lap all night." Then Kagome blushed and Inuyasha laughed.

He tried to lay back down on Kagome's lap, but she stood up in time. Inuyasha grumbled, but grabbed her arm and pulled her down so that she way laying on top of him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and closed his eyes again.

"Inuyasha,"

He opened them half way and looked at her. "What?"

"My mom will freak out if she finds me sleeping with you."

Inuyasha's eyes shot open the rest of the way. "I forgot to give you your present!" He sat up really quickly, almost making Kagome fall off, and he reached under the couch and grabbed a package. It was small and wrapped in brown paper.

He pulled Kagome onto his lap then handed her the box. She tore away the brown paper and pulled it open. Inuyasha closed his eyes. He started to worry that she wouldn't like it.

When Kagome saw what Inuyasha had given her she gasped. It was a beautiful white kimono. The bottom of it had an ocean design on it and the whole thing had silver trimming.

"Do you like it?"

Kagome threw her arms around his neck, "I love it."

Inuyasha kept his arms around Kagome and laid back down, pulling her with him. Her head rested on his chest, she could hear his heart beat again.

"I think you're foolish." Inuyasha said suddenly.

"What?" Kagome lifted herself on to her elbows so that she was able to look at his face.

"You're foolish."

"I'm not foolish."

"Yeah you are."

"Why?"

"You're really beautiful Kagome, you could have had any other guy, but you settled for me."

Kagome smiled and kissed him, "I settled for the man that I love."

Inuyasha placed his hand on the back of her head and pulled her back in for a kiss. "I love you." He whispered inbetween their kisses.

He rolled over a little bit so that he was straddling her hips and smiled at the faint blush that appeared on her face. He loved it when she blushed. He leaned down and kissed her more passionately then ever before, his tongue pushed past her lips and brushed against hers. Kagome wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him closer to her, she loved this man.

Inuyasha lifted his head up a little bit and looked down at his beautiful Kagome. He could tell that she was nervous, so he laid light kisses along her neck. He nibbled and licked the area near her shoulder causing her to moan. She moved her head back a little bit so he would have better access to her neck. While still kissing her neck, his hands slid under her shirt and caressed the soft skin on her belly and just below her breasts.

Kagome found the boldness and brought him closer to her in a kiss. Inuyasha smiled a little bit as his hands continued to roam her body. He cupped her breasts a little bit and waited to see if she would react. She gasped but didn't stop him, so he moved one of his hands under the bra to feel her flesh. His other hand slid up her skirt and rested on her thigh. While Kagome kissed his neck he picked her up and walked into the guest bedroom.

Kagome didn't even know she had been moved into the bedroom until Inuyasha laid her on the bed. She opened her eyes and smiled at Inuyasha before wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him down on top of her.

Inuyasha kissed his way down the base of her neck and nibbled lightly at the skin. He lifted her into a sitting position and pulled off the shirt she had been wearing. Kagome instinctively wanted to cover herself, but Inuyasha stopped her. "You don't need to be embarrassed." he said while nuzzling her neck. She nodded and unhooked her bra and let Inuyasha push her back onto the bed. She tugged lightly on his shirt and he took that as a hint to pull it off.

He leaned down and started kissing her breast. He switched between the two of them to give the same amount of attention. With last kiss he brought one into his mouth. Kagome moaned and griped his shoulders. She wanted to find any way to be close to him. Inuyasha started to pull her skirt down a little bit, but she tensed up. "Do you want me to stop?" he asked. Kagome shook her head and he moved upwards to kiss her lips. When she started to relax a bit he pulled her skirt and underwear the rest of the way.

He removed the rest of him clothing, so there was nothing in their way. Inuyasha moved his hands along her thigh, causing goose bumps to appear, then one finger slowly slid inside of her. Kagome let out a moan and thanked god that her mom's room was on the second floor. Inuyasha loved the sound she made and added another finger till he could tell that she was ready for him. He removed his fingers, "Are you ready?"

Kagome just nodded, she didn't trust herself to speak.

Inuyasha slowly entered her, letting her adjust to the new feeling. Kagome cringed, it felt uncomfortable at first, but the pain passed. It wasn't as bad as she had always thought it would be.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Inuyasha kissed her. He started slow rhythm, he didn't want to hurt her. Kagome moaned and begged him to go faster. He happily grated her request and sped up. After a few moments of moaning and groaning they felt themselves nearing the end. Inuyasha's thrust started to have more force behind them as he kissed Kagome. With one more hard thrust Kagome pulled her head back and tried to stifle her scream. Inuyasha came a few moments after Kagome. Neither of them moved for a while.

Inuyasha could tell by Kagome's steady breath that she was asleep. He kissed her cheek and pulled the covers over the two of them. He held Kagome close to him and slowly drifted off to sleep himself.

****

xxx End of Chapter Seventeen xxx

I can't wait till I write the next chapter.

will Kagome's mom find the two of them in bed together? And if she does, what will she do?

It's really sad that I ask myself these question, I'm just so happy. Happy and hyper are not good mixes.

Pick a number between 1 and 10 . Ok that's how many reviews I want.

Lots of Love Daydreamer62386


	18. The Day After

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

****

Notes to my reviewers: Warning! Warning! I'm going on a trip, so my next chapter will be a little later then intended.

Inufreak831 : You really think I deserve a million reviews, awwww, you're too nice. I didn't have Inuyasha do the whole 'mark' thing, because almost everyone has that in their InuKag lemons. I guess I wanted to be diffrent.

**Chapter Eighteen: The Morning After**

Kagome was the first, of the two of them, to wake up. She opened her eyes, blinked a couple of time, and tried to remember where she was. Then all the memories of last night came flooding back. She blushed and rolled over to look at Inuyasha.

His hair, eyes (though they were closed), fangs, and claws were back to normal. Or what Inuyasha would consider normal. She was breathing lightly, Kagome thought he looked so cute, so she reached over and rubbed his ears. He didn't wake up, but he smiled when she did that.

Kagome relaxed while listening to Inuyasha's breathing until she heard her footsteps outside the room. _Shit!_ She screamed in her head over and over again when she realized all the things that would happen if her mom found her half-naked in bed with Inuyasha.

She gathered the courage to pull her covers away and searched for her cloths, _Where are they_ she asked herself. She had no idea where Inuyasha had tossed them. As she grew further and further into a panic she decided to wear the white shirt Inuyasha usually had on. It fell just below her butt, but it was better then nothing.

Just as she pulled it on, someone knocked on the door. "Please don't let it be mom, please please." She kept whispering as she made her way to the door.

"Kagome!" he brother stood in the door that Kagome had opened. "Kagome. What are you doing!"

"Please don't tell mom." Kagome pleaded with him.

Souta stared at his sister for a few seconds. He had taken a health class and was well aware of what went on last night. Kagome looked really worried while waiting for his answer. He shook his head, "Fine. I won't tell."

"Thanks Souta. Is mom around?"

"No. She went shopping for more food."

Kagome turned and looked at the clock sitting next to the bed. _11:00 a.m._ she hadn't realized it was so late in the morning.

"K-Kagome, maybe you should get dressed."

Kagome remembered that she was only wearing Inuyasha's shirt, so she patted Souta on the head and silently walked up to her room, trying to attract as little attention from her grandfather as possible. Of course not before grabbing the kimono that Inuyasha had given her, she planned on wearing it today.

When she got to her room she took a deep breath in, knowing she had dodged a bullet when it came to Souta. Then she started to get dressed. The second she had the kimono on she loved it, it felt like the softest cloth in the world flowing over she skin.

She tied her hair in a bun and headed to the kitchen for something to eat. Her grandfather was sitting at their table reading his newspaper. When she reached for a box of cereal her grandfather put a stop to it.

"No, Kagome." He said, "It's too late to eat breakfast."

Kagome smiled "But early enough to eat lunch."

Her grandfather smiled. He was proud of how smart his granddaughter was. "You know, when I was your age, I would wake up every morning at dawn to work and study."

Kagome rolled her eyes "Grandpa. I'm usually up fighting demons or traveling around looking for jewel shards, I don't get to sleep in very much."

"Sure."

Kagome laughed and started eating her food.

****

xxx Meanwhile with Inuyasha xxx

Inuyasha woke up when he realized that Kagome wasn't in bed beside him anymore. He felt the spot where she used to be, it was still warm. He sat up and was a little surprised to see Souta standing near the end of the bed giving him a very serious look.

"What do you want?" he asked, he rubbed his eyes a little bit.

"Inuyasha. If you break my sister's heart, I'll come after you myself." He said then walked out of the room, leaving Inuyasha very confused.

He shrugged it off and started to get dressed. He looked around for his white shirt, but couldn't find it. _Kagome must have taken it _he thought. He reached under the bed, grabbed Kagome clothing and walked out of the room shirtless.

"Kagome." He called out.

She walked into the room he was standing in. Inuyasha's mouth fell open. Kagome looked so beautiful in her new kimono. She giggled at the look on his face. "What do you need Inuyasha?" she asked.

He shook himself out of his thoughts. The somehow went from admiring how she looked in her kimono to how soon he could get her out of it. "I — I need my white shirt." He said, handing her the clothing she had on last night.

"Sure. It's in my room. I'll be right back." She dashed out of the room, Inuyasha's eyes following her.

"Young man!" Kagome's grandfather just walked into the room "We have a young lady in the house. I will not tolerate you walking around without a shirt on."

"Umm — Yes sir." Inuyasha mumbled. He walked into the guestroom to wait for Kagome. He considered it ironic that Kagome's grandfather didn't want her seeing him without a shirt on, considering all she had seen last night.

Kagome walked down the stairs holding Inuyasha's shirt. She saw her brother and grandfather in the kitchen making sandwiches for their lunch. They seemed to be talking about meaningless stuff.

She walked to the guestroom door and knocked lightly. Inuyasha, still shirtless, opened the door quickly and pulled Kagome inside. He closed the door and pushed Kagome against it in a kiss. She was a little surprised at first, but enjoyed it none the less.

"You look wonderful today." He said while nuzzling her neck.

Kagome closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side as Inuyasha's hand moved lower and lower on her back. "Wait Inuyasha." Kagome finally brought herself to push him away. "Everyone's waiting for us. We need to go."

Inuyasha licked her ear, causing her to shiver. "They could wait a little bit longer."

Kagome took a deep breath, "Inuyasha. We can't."

Inuyasha made a puppy face, but it didn't work on Kagome. She just laughed and pushed his white shirt against his chest. "Hurry up. I'm gonna get ready." She kissed him lightly on the lips then walked out of the room.

"What were you doing in there?" Kagome grandfather asked.

"I was giving Inuyasha his shirt."

"What were you doing with his shirt?"

Souta and Kagome glanced at each other, "He got a stain on it last night, and I — umm — cleaned it for him." She said.

"Alright."

Kagome was relived. She had almost blown her cover. She walked to her bedroom and started putting food, medical supplies, and her schoolbooks in the yellow backpack she always carried around.

"Are you ready?" Inuyasha was standing in her doorway.

Kagome smiled at him and nodded.

"Do you want to wait for your mom to get home, or something."

"Umm — no. I hate having to tell my mom I'm leaving."

"Ok. Let's go." Inuyasha grabbed her backpack for her and started to walk down the stairs.

****

xxx In Inuyasha's era xxx

Sango sat with Miroku outside of Kaede's house. "I thought Kagome would be back by now." She mumbled.

"Does your life revolve around her?" Miroku asked with a smile on his face.

Sango punched his shoulder lightly. Shippo came running up to them from out of the woods. "Look what I found!" he yelled happily. When he reached Sango and Miroku he held of a white lily. **[Do lilies grow in Japan? I've never thought about it before]**

"Wow Shippo, whose it for?"

"I'm gonna give it to Kagome. Do you think she'll like it?"

"Yeah." Sango stood up. "Why don't you and I go to the well to wait for her."

Shippo smiled and jumped on Sango's shoulder. She started walking and only paused for a second when she got to the tree that Kouga was sitting in. "Why do demons hang out in trees?"

"We get a good view of what's going on all around us." He responded.

Sango laughed a little bit and made her way to the well. They were both, almost there when she saw Inuyasha and Kagome hopping out of it. "Kagome!" she yelled out while waving. Shippo jumped of her shoulder and ran towards Kagome.

"Kagome. Kagome." He yelled out.

Kagome and Inuyasha saw him running. "I'm gonna head for Kaede's house, I don't like leaving Kouga alone." He whispered in her ear.

"See ya." She whispered back as he walked off.

"Hey runt, nice flower." Inuyasha said as he walked past Shippo.

"T-Thanks?" Shippo was surprised Inuyasha had paid him a complement like that. He shrugged it off and started running again. He jumped into Kagome's arms and hugged her.

"Kagome, I missed - " he cut himself off and looked at Kagome with a sour face.

"What's wrong?" Kagome asked. Sango walked up to the two of them wondering why Shippo was making that face.

"You smell like Inuyasha." Shippo said. Kagome's face turned bright red and Sango's mouth fell open. It only took a few moments for that open mouth to turn into laughter at Kagome's embarrassment.

"Kagome, where did you get that kimono?" Sango asked, "You look beautiful."

"Inuyasha gave it to me. Come on. Let's go." Kagome started to walk towards Kaede's house.

"What's up?" Miroku asked. He saw Sango laughing, Kagome's red face, and Shippo's scrunched up nose, and wondered what the hell had happened.   
  
"Nothing." Sango and Kagome said at the same time.

Kouga jumped down from the tree and walked over to Kagome. He frowned when he smelt Inuyasha's scent all over Kagome.

"Kagome. I have a flower for you." Shippo held up the flower.

"Thanks." Kagome took it from him and put it in her hair, "Does it look good."

"Yeah." Kouga said.

Kagome's smiled faded a little; she didn't like the way Kouga said that.

"Well." Inuyasha walked out of Kaede's house "If you are all ready, I think we should go after that demon Kouga was talking about."

"Alright." They all said, then headed off, being lead by Kouga.

****

xxx end of chapter eighteen xxx

I'm really sorry. I think this chapter is the shortest out of all of them, but I really need to go and get ready for my trip. Don't worry I'll make it up to you.

See y'all later.

The more reviews I get, the longer chapter 19 will be.

Lots of love Daydreamer62386


	19. The Cow Demon And Shippo

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

****

Notes to my reviewers: I came home, checked my mail, and said "Wow, that's a hell of a lot of reviews!" Thanks. You all deserve a really long chapter.

Inufreak831 : Yeah, I took a health class when I was Souta's age. In respond to your human curiosity, they will run across a jewel shard (ironically).

Weilder of the flaming blade : Well the night is still young, Kouga could still make of big deal about Inuyasha's scent.

Spike of Doom : Believe it or not I was actually thinking about that too, I'll have to make him do something really perverted to make up for it.

****

Chapter Nineteen: The Cow Demon and Shippo

After saying good-bye to Lady Kaede, everyone started on their journey. Kouga always stayed a little bit ahead of everyone else. He would pause every once and a while and wait for anyone who was behind to catch up, but mainly he kept to himself.

The others couldn't tell, but he was actually going through a dilemma. He still wanted Kagome to be his, but he didn't know how honorable it would be to take her away not, especially seine she already mated with Inuyasha. _No_ he shook his head. _His Kagome was just as pure and innocent as ever There isn't anything wrong with me taking her_ he decided.

Miroku and Inuyasha were walking next to each other a short distance away from Kouga. "So, where'd you get Kagome's kimono?" Miroku asked.

"A lady in a village gave it to me."

"Gave it to you!" he was a little surprised "She gave you something that fancy!"

"It was one of the villages we've helped in the past. I guess it was her way of saying, thanks. Why do you care?"

"No reason."

Shippo was walking next to Inuyasha, but he wasn't showing any interest in their conversation. He was trying really hard to keep the same pace as Inuyasha. He figured that if he walked more like him, then he would be more like him.

Sango and Kagome were walking together behind everyone else. Kagome had tried to walk with Inuyasha, but Sango wouldn't let her. She wanted to have a girl to girl' conversation. "So," she said after a few moments of silence. "Did you and Inuyasha do what I think you did?"

Kagome blushed, "Y-Yes."

"Really. How was it?"

"Sango, that's kind of private. I don't really want to talk about it."

"I was only wondering. I mean, the first time is supposed to be special."

"Sango."

"Sorry it's just I always thought Inuyasha would be the type who -"

"Sango! For the love of god, shut up!" she didn't want to sound mean, but it really was a private matter.

Sango paused for a few seconds. "Well, when Miroku and I -"

Kagome slammed her hands over her ears and ran towards Inuyasha. When she reached him, she jumped on his back. Inuyasha was taken off guard and fell face first into the dirt.

"Sorry Inu." Kagome laughed "Could I have a ride?"

"Sure." He stood up, brushed some dirt off, and continued walking with Kagome on his back.

She pulled a little on his silver hair so that it was covering her head. One of the reasons she did that was to shield herself from the sun, but mainly so she could give Inuyasha's neck kisses without Miroku giving her a perverted look.

Inuyasha smiled when he felt Kagome's lips on his neck. He laughed a little bit when a small nibble tickled him. "What's so funny?" Miroku asked.

"Nothing." Inuyasha nudged Kagome. He liked her kisses, but needed her to stop so he could concentrate on walking straight.

Kagome giggled and settled for resting her head on his shoulder and letting the smell of the lawn just after it rains calm her into a sleeping state.

Inuyasha sighed when Kagome fell asleep. He could tell by the way she relaxed in his grip.

"Is she asleep?" Miroku asked, moving Inuyasha's hair to one side.

"I think so."

"She's probably tired from walking all day."

"Yeah, I guess."

They continued following Kouga till Sango finally complained. "Kouga, not all of us have the strength of a demon. I need a rest." Kouga let out a frustrated groan.

"It's time for lunch anyway." Miroku said. He and Sango cooked some food while Inuyasha gently laid Kagome on the ground.

"Should we wake her up?" Sango asked as she handed Inuyasha his share of food.

"No. We'll save her some." He replied. He knew that if Kagome woke up she would feel refreshed and wouldn't want him to carry her.

"Kouga, do you want some?" Sango held a plate in his direction (whom was currently sitting in a tree).

"I hunt for my own food at night." He said while staying alert for anything that could be a danger.

"Don't you sleep?" Inuyasha asked.

"Worry about your own health, mutt boy." Kouga snapped.

Inuyasha growled and stood up so he could fight with him, but Kagome's eyes shot open. "SIT!" she yelled. Kouga laughed as Inuyasha's face slammed into the ground.

"I didn't do anything!" Inuyasha yelled once he was able to life his head up again.

"What?" Kagome seemed confused for a second, but then realized what happened. "Oh Inuyasha, I'm sorry." She moved from her spot and hugged him "I just had a bad dream."

"Whatever." Inuyasha rubbed his forehead.

"What did you dream about?" Sango asked.

Kagome loosened her grip on Inuyasha. "N-Nothing."

"Don't you want to tell us."

"No."

Shippo jumped onto Kagome's lap. "Whenever I have a bad dream I just tell people about it. It always seems silly and less scary when I say it out loud."

Kagome glanced at Inuyasha then back to Shippo. "I'm not sure everyone would want to hear about my dream." She mumbled.

Sango handed her some food, but she only nibbled on it. "Aren't you hungry?" Sango asked her when she saw how little Kagome was eating.

"No. Not really."

Kouga jumped down from the tree. "If she's not eating, then we should keep moving. I want to cover as much ground as we can before night."

"Do you want a ride?" Inuyasha asked, helping Kagome up.

"No. I'm fine."

He was a little disappointed but tried not to show it. He noticed that Kagome kept a little bit of distance between the two of them while they were traveling. _She probably thinks I'm mad about that sit' thing _he told himself.

Kouga, once again, took his spot in the lead. Everyone followed him in silence for a little while.

"Am I the only one who feels like I've been here before?" Sango asked suddenly.

They all paused for a second and looked around. The path they were walking on did look familiar, but they couldn't place it. "Maybe we've traveled along this path before." Miroku suggested.

"I guess." Sango said "I wish Kouga would just tell us where the demon was then leave us to do the work."

"How long do you think he plans to stay with us?" Miroku asked.

"Didn't he say he'd leave as soon as we got to the demon" Sango said.

"I can't remember." Shippo scratched his head.

"As soon as we find that demon, I'm kicking him out of our group." Inuyasha said. "I shouldn't have let him join in the first place."

"He hasn't done anything wrong." Sango watched Kouga walk "Maybe were being to hard on him."

Kagome laughed a little bit "Nothing wrong." She mumbled to herself. Inuyasha gave her a confused look, but she just ignored it. She zoned in and out of the conversation the others were having, only catching certain words or phrases here and there.

The sun was actually going down when she heard the familiar, but still unwanted voice in her head. _KagomeKagome_. It seemed a little louder then before. She bit her lip and waited for it to go away.

"Kagome. Where are you going?"

Kagome heard Inuyasha calling her. She turned her head and saw him with the others standing a ways behind her. They had all stopped and started to set up camp, but were now wondering why Kagome had kept walking.

Kagome thought it was odd. She didn't even remember the others stopping, much less her continued walking. "Umm — nowhere." She said, making her way to the camp.

"Are you hungry now?" Sango asked.

"Yeah."

They ate the meal silence until Shippo noticed something really shiny in Kagome's opened backpack. "What's that?" he asked, reaching inside for it. He pulled out a silver chain with a whistle on it.

Kagome looked over at what Shippo was holding. "That's a dog whistle. My brother gave it to me."

Shippo examined the dog' whistle carefully. "It doesn't look like a dog"

"It's not supposed to."

Inuyasha suddenly remembered the day at her house when her brother showed him the whistle. "Souta is confusing Kagome. He told me that the dog whistle would be an alternative to sit'."

Kagome slightly laughed, "Yeah. I guess it would be."

"How can it be an alternative to sit?" Miroku asked. "Is there any magic in it?"

"No."

Inuyasha grabbed it from Shippo's hands; "It doesn't look bad." He actually liked it. He like how smooth and shiny it was.

"What does the whistle do?" Sango asked.

Kagome glanced up at Inuyasha, "I don't know if I should"

"Please," Shippo took the whistle back and handed it to Kagome. "please please show us how it works."

Kagome was astounded at how interested everyone was in the whistle, even Kouga was watching. "I don't know only if Inuyasha's ok with it."

Inuyasha nodded. He was really curious about the dog whistle'.

Kagome gave him a doubtful look, but brought the whistle to her lips. When she blew on it, everyone was a little confused. They didn't hear anything. They all thought that the whistle was broken until Inuyasha started screaming.

He covered his ears with his hands, "STOP!" he pleaded with Kagome. She did right away.

"What just happened?" Sango looked between Inuyasha and Kagome.

"A dog whistle gives out a sound that's so high pitched, only dogs can hear it." Kagome said. She reached over and rubbed one of Inuyasha's ears for him, in a way of saying sorry. He smiled and leaned into her touch a little bit.

"Kagome." Sango stood up. "I'm gonna take a bath, do you want to come with me."

"Sure." She put the whistle (much to Inuyasha's disgust) around her neck. She walked with Sango to a place they could take a bath and made sure that none of the men were around to watch them, before undressing.

Sango let out a sigh when she walked into the water. If felt, good. "So." She said to Kagome as soon as they were both in the water, "What was your nightmare about."

"Why do you want to know?"

"It seemed to bother you a lot earlier."

Kagome looked at the stars that were slowly lighting up the sky, "Well it did at the time, but I guess it doesn't anymore."

"If it doesn't bother you anymore, than you shouldn't have any trouble telling me about it."

Kagome sighed. "Your right, but it seems stupid now." She watched the water move around her a little bit before decided that she could tell Sango about her dream. "I'll tell you, but your just going to think it's stupid."

"I won't."

"Ok umm" she had never really talked about any of her dreams before, good or bad, so she didn't know how to tell Sango about this one. "It started with Kikyou and I standing next to each other."

"Like in that drawing of yours."

Ignoring the fact that Sango had looked in her forbidden' notebook, she nodded. "Yeah, a little like that. Anyway, Inuyasha walked up to us and just stared. Almost like he was trying to decide which girl to go with."

"Did he choose you?" Sango asked.

"If he chose me it wouldn't have been considered a nightmare. He ended up pushing me aside and grabbing Kikyou's hand."

"That bastard." Sango mumbled.

Kagome laughed. "It was only a dream Sango. Plus, Inuyasha loves me, so I have nothing to worry about."

Sango smiled "Your right."

Both the girls turned when they heard a twig snap in the distance. They lowered into the water so only their heads were sticking out and watched carefully for any movement. Kagome picked up a rock from under the water and held it tightly in her hand, ready to hit whoever was out there on the head.

They stayed perfectly still until they saw someone moving behind one of the bushes. Kagome took her chance and threw the rock as hard as she could. They heard a muffled scream and Miroku stood up.

"MIROKU YOU ASS!" Sango yelled.

He rubbed his head and stepped away from the bush. "Oh — umm — Hi Sango. Didn't notice you two there, I was — umm — picking some berries."

Sango raised herself out of the water a little bit. "Berries? What kind of berries?"

"Umm — raspberries."

"At this time of night?"

"Yeah."

Sango might have been fine with Miroku getting a clear view of her breast, but Kagome didn't. She lowered herself even more so that her nose was just a little bit above the water (so she could breath) and started to slowly back up so that she was in the deeper water.

"Sorry Kagome." Sango suddenly turned and faced her. "Miroku go away."

Miroku smiled and walked back to the camp. "What are you smiling about?" Inuyasha asked, not really caring.

"Nothing."

Inuyasha looked carefully at Miroku, he recognized that look on his face. "You went to spy on the girls didn't you?"

Miroku nodded. He didn't seem to be ashamed.

"Just when I thought you started acting like a gentleman." Inuyasha mumbled. He rested against the base of the tree and waited for everyone to get back, until a thought struck him. "Hey! You didn't try to sneak a peak at Kagome did you!"

"No. She hid in the water."

Kouga looked down from his spot in the tree, "I didn't know we were allowed to watch the girls take a bath."

"We're not!" Inuyasha snapped at him.

Kagome walked into the camp. She punched Miroku on the shoulder then sat down next to Inuyasha. She looked over at Shippo, who was sleeping in one of the beds he made. "Where's Sango?" Inuyasha asked.

"She's coming. I got dressed quicker then her, so I could hit Miroku."

Inuyasha laughed a little bit, he kind of like the way Kagome looked when she was mad. She got a certain fire in her eyes.

Sango walked into camp, "Did you hit him?" she asked Kagome.

"Yeah."

Sango turned towards Miroku and put on a fake pity look. "Poor thing, where did she hit you?"

"My shoulder." Miroku said. Sango kissed his shoulder then moved into the bed that Shippo had made for her. When Kagome laid down in her bed Inuyasha debated with himself. He did enjoy sleeping in the tree, but he wanted to sleep next to Kagome.

Eventually he made the choice to go with Kagome and wrapped his arms around her while he slept.

Kouga was the last one to fall asleep. He watched Kagome for a little while and tried his best to ignore Inuyasha. He was starting to feel more and more guilty as time went on. Kagome seemed happy with Inuyasha.

__

No! he mentally yelled at himself _Kagome's only happy because she hasn't had anyone better_. He tried to keep think along those lines as he fell asleep.

****

xxx Morning (On The Road Again) xxx

Shippo complained loudly about not getting to rest at all during their trip, "Does Kouga ever rest!" he yelled out "Or does he just have some kind of unlimited energy source!"

"Do you want a ride?" Kagome asked. Shippo nodded and jumped onto her back without hesitation. "Any reason why you're so cranky?"

"I'm tired of walking all the time."

"We've traveled around on foot before." Inuyasha said.

"Yeah, but we always rested to eat every once and a while."

"We can stop if you want." Sango suggested.

Kagome suddenly stiffened and stopped walking. Shippo was the only one who noticed at first, everyone else kept walking. "Kagome what's wrong?" he asked.

When he said that, everyone (even Kouga) stopped walking and turned towards her. "Kagome?" Inuyasha called out.

She turned towards her left and stared ahead. "There's a jewel shard near by. I can feel it." She pulled Shippo of her back and set him on the ground. "This way." She started running in the direction she was facing.

Everyone followed her except for Kouga. He was confused. _There really is a demon with a jewel shard_. He was a little amazed that the story he made up was actually true. It wasn't till everyone was almost out of sight that he realized Kagome was going to try and fight a demon, he should be there to protect her.

Kagome could hear Inuyasha running behind her. She could sense a demon with a jewel shard not that far away from where they were. "It's a cow demon." Inuyasha yelled in Kagome direction. "I can smell it."

They all reached a clearing in the woods and saw the demon in the middle of it. It looked like a normal cow, only it's eyes were a solid red color and it was 10 times the size it was supposed to be.

"It's not a very strong one." Inuyasha mumbled to Kagome "Even with the jewel shard." He turned away from Kagome and sat in his dog position near Shippo.

"Hey Shippo." He decided that it would be good training. "I think you should handle this."

"Me? Really?"

Inuyasha nodded, "We need to get the jewel out of it before Miroku can suck it up."

Shippo nodded and walked towards the cow. He was a little bit nervous, but he knew that Inuyasha wasn't very far away. When he got to the animal it snapped its teeth at him. The teeth were large and looked very sharp, but Shippo held his ground.

He waited till the animal started running towards him to jump in the air. The cow demon missed him and looked around confused for a few seconds. Shippo landed on his neck, and pulled on his ears (he was copying what Kagome did a while ago). It was a simple move, but it was affective. The demon ran around and tried to kick Shippo off.

"The jewel is in his stomach, he must have eaten it!" Kagome yelled out.

Shippo jumped off the cow and decided to hit it on the stomach, he was hoping that if he hit it hard enough, the jewel would come flying out of his mouth. He positioned himself to get a running start and waited for the cow demon to pick a spot to stand.

Everyone was watching with interest. They had no doubt that the demon couldn't be destroyed in a second if it needed to be, but they enjoyed watching Shippo try to use all the things that Inuyasha taught him.

Shippo saw his chance and ran towards the demon. He remembered not to close his eyes and concentrate on the spot he wanted to hit, just like the tree. When his fist met the demon's stomach his plan worked. The cow demon let out a loud yell, and the jewel shard shot out of its mouth.

Even without the jewel the cow demon was able to swing its head and hit Shippo. He went flying and hit the ground hard, but he stood up and faced Miroku.

"Are you going to use your wind tunnel now?" he asked, holding onto his stomach.

Miroku nodded and unwrapped the beads from his hand. He turned his head back and waited for the sucking sensation he always felt, but it didn't come. "What the hell." He (along with everyone else) looked at his hand. The hole was gone.

"What's going on?" Inuyasha asked. He was to far away to see what was really going on.

Everyone was concentrating on Miroku, so they didn't notice that the cow demon was running towards them. It was making it's own decision about who to attack first. It picked Sango.

While Miroku was touching the palm of his hand in disbelief, the demon hit Sango with its head. She went flying backwards and hit the tree behind her. It didn't hurt her that much, but it did nock the wind out of her.

Before anyone else could draw a weapon Shippo jumped towards the demon with his foot in front of him. He hit with as much pressure as he could on the neck. It worked. The neck broke and the demon died instantly.

"Good job Shippo." Kagome said. Miroku and Inuyasha helped Sango to her feet while Kagome walked over to the spot where the jewel shard was. She found it easily because she could sense where it was.

"Are you alright Sango?" She asked, running towards her after she had the jewel shard in her hand.

"Yeah." She said in a faint voice while trying to catch her breath.

Once everyone was sure that Sango was really ok they turned their attention back towards Miroku's hand. "What the hell happened to your wind tunnel?" Inuyasha asked.

"It's gone." Miroku was still a little stunned. "Naraku must be dead." He smiled a little bit, but then it quickly faded. "Damn it!" he yelled.

"What's wrong, I thought your main goal was to get rid of that hole." Kagome said.

"Yeah. But I didn't. Someone else killed Naraku."

"So. As long as he's dead."

Inuyasha looked curiously at Miroku, he didn't see what the big deal was. Until it finally hit him. Neither of them would get to take their revenge on Naraku. "Fuck." He mumbled. He was a little upset, but to his surprise not as mad as he expected.

He had always wanted to kill Naraku so that he could revenge Kikyou's death, but now, it didn't seem as important as it used too. Still, he felt like there was some kind of need to kill Naraku with his own hands, and now that was taken away from him. "I don't get to have my revenge now." He said.

Kagome tilted her head towards the sky and tried to look on the bright side of things. "Well," she didn't want Miroku and Inuyasha to be upset, "look at the positive. Miroku won't get sucked into some other bizarre world and and" she snapped her fingers, "Sango, does this mean your brother will be back to normal?"

Sango's face brightened a little, "Yeah, we need to find him."

"We could start looking around for him tomorrow."

"No." Kouga said suddenly, grabbing everyone's attention, "We can't."

"Why not?" Kagome rested her hands on her hips. She was still mad at him for the kiss.

"B-because of the demon." He didn't really know what else to say. He still needed them to follow him to the castle.

"Are you blind!" Miroku said, "Shippo already defeated the demon that had the jewel shard."

"That's right." Inuyasha said, "You can leave the group now. We don't need you around anymore." Inuyasha was satisfied thinking that Kouga's big part in helping the jewel was now over.

"I — I -" he didn't really know what to say.

Kagome, for some reason, started feeling bad for him. She assumed that it hurt his feelings to be thrown out like that. "He could stay with us for the night." She said "And leave in the morning."

Inuyasha looked at her. He was a little annoyed that he would be around Kouga a day longer then he had to be, but he hated telling Kagome no'. So he reluctantly nodded and mentally kicked himself for the power that Kagome had over him.

Once Kagome was sure that Inuyasha wouldn't change his mind she turned towards Shippo. "Good job Shippo. I'm proud of the way you fought that demon."

Shippo blushed and tried not to show how proud he was of himself, "Shhh Kagome, don't let it get to my head."

Everyone laughed.

****

xxx That Night xxx

Kouga took the only spot in the tree that Inuyasha wanted to sleep on, so he settled for the ground again. He leaned against the trunk of the tree and pulled Kagome into his lap. He wrapped his arms loosely around her and nuzzled her neck.

Kagome giggled. She loved that feeling. "Good night Inuyasha." She kissed his cheek then rested her head on his chest.

"Kagome, could I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Why are you always so nice to Kouga?"

Kagome thought about it for a few seconds, she needed to say this in just the right way, "Because, he reminds me of you."

Inuyasha was surprised, "How could he remind you of me. We're completely diffrent."

"No you're not. Kouga acts strong and powerful, but on the inside he's sweet. You're like that to, you've always been like that." Kagome finished talking then closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Sango slept next to Miroku. He fell asleep before her, so she just watched him. His eyes moved a little under his lids and she wondered what he was dreaming about. His steady breath was calming her and she slowly felt sleep creep upon her.

Everyone enjoyed the quiet and warm night. It was easy to fall asleep and they couldn't sense any danger around them. Kagome would have almost had an uninterrupted night of sleep until she hear the voice in her head. _Kagome, Kagome._

Her head shot up. This time when she heard the voice, it wasn't just in her head. The sound of the voice seemed to vibrate through her bones. She needed to follow it. Something in her body just needed to follow it.

She moved slowly, not wanting to wake up Inuyasha, and quietly left the campsite, not having any idea where her feet were taking her.

****

[I was going to end it there, but I did promise all of you a long chapter]

Nobody noticed Kagome had gone until Inuyasha woke up. He opened his eyes when he noticed that Kagome's warm body wasn't near him anymore. Normally he wouldn't have made such a big deal, but her scent was almost gone.

His first thought was instantly _Kouga_.

Kouga had already woken up and was walking around camp. Inuyasha grabbed him by the shoulders and slammed him into the tree. Sango, Miroku, and Shippo didn't really know what to do.

"What the fuck did you do with Kagome!" He yelled. That was when everyone noticed that she was gone.

Kouga looked around the camp and tried to act surprised, but Inuyasha wasn't fooled. "Where is she!" he yelled even louder.

"Calm down mutt boy, I don't know!"

"You're a liar, I can see it in your eyes." Inuyasha yelled. He released Kouga from his grip, but before the wolf demon had a chance to run away, Inuyasha punched him as hard as he could across the jaw.

"You bastard!" Kouga screamed. All the anger the two of them had been keeping inside the past few days was coming out now. Miroku and Sango didn't know what to do, so they grabbed Shippo and made sure that they were at least 20 feet away from them at all times.

"You took her somewhere in the middle of the night didn't you." Inuyasha snarled, his fangs showing.

"No."

Inuyasha growled, he knew that Kouga had something to do with Kagome's disappearance, but he didn't know what. "What happened to her then?"

"I don't know, maybe she realized how much of a loser you are and went back home."

Inuyasha ran towards Kouga and punched him in the stomach when he said that. Kouga was able to get a swing in and hit Inuyasha's head, but it didn't seem to effect him that much. He was too angry with Kouga to feel pain.

"Tell me where the fuck she is!" Inuyasha screamed.

Kouga didn't want to tell him about Kikyou and her castle, it wouldn't ruin the entire plan, so he just ran into the woods. He would hide in the woods until Kagome came back.

"Come back her you little bastard!" Inuyasha yelled. He started to follow Kouga, but Sango called him back.

"Don't you think we should try and find Kagome first." She said.

Inuyasha wanted to chase after Kouga, but knew that he needed to find Kagome. He sniffed the air. Her scent was faint, because she left in the middle of the night it was barely there, but he could still pick up her trail. "This way." He said, running in the direction Kagome went.

****

xxx Kikyou's Castle xxx

Kikyou smiled. She could feel Kagome coming closer and closer to her castle. It had finally worked. All the waiting and waiting, wondering the whole time if Kouga would be true to his word. And now she was coming.

She quickly made sure that she had all the herbs in order then started brewing the potion that she would make Kagome drink. _Soon_ she thought happily_ Soon, the spell that I've been planing for so long will be set. Kagome's spell, the spell for Kagome will work._

****

xxx End of Chapter Nineteen xxx

Thanks for waiting so long for this chapter. I had so much fun on my vacation, I also go a bunch a new ideas. I think my trip cured my writers block (knocks on wood.)

I would like to have umm 9 reviews.

****

P.S. I completely forgot the name of Sango's brother, could one of you guys let me know. Thanks.

Lots of love Daydreamer62386 : )


	20. Back In Kikyou's Castle

****

Disclaimer: I didn't own Inuyasha yesterday, I don't own him today, and I probably won't own him tomorrow either.

****

Notes to my reviewers:

Kitty: I'm sorry that I took up an entire day. You could've used that time to kill mosquitoes (or something else to help humanity).

Inufreak831: I'm sorry about your brother and I'm really sorry about my cliffhanger. I don't mean to leave cliffhangers, it just kinnda happens.

Viet grl: You're welcome.

CrazyOtaku: I did go on my trip and it was fun, thanks for asking. I got the demon cow idea from my little brother. While I was writing chapter 19 he was running around the computer room pretending to be a dog, then he mooed. I thought it was so funny that he mooed, so I had to put a cow in my story.

****

Chapter Twenty: Back in Kikyou's Castle

Kagome was vaguely aware of what was going on, but she didn't have much control over her body. It felt almost like she was watching a 3-D movie or something. The sun was just starting to rise. _I wonder if Inuyasha has noticed that I'm gone yet_ she wondered.

She moved her eyes over the landscape now that there was light (her eyes seemed to be the only part of her body that she had control over). She squinted a little bit when she saw a spot a few feet away that seemed really familiar.

__

Think she told herself _That was the spot where _sometimes when she wanted to remember something, she would just start a sentence like that was the day that' or that was the person who' Most of the time that trick would work, but this time it took a little longer.

Kagome closed her eyes and tried to think harder, _That was the spot where where_ then it hit her _That was the spot where Inuyasha told me, he wasn't in love with Kikyou!_ She couldn't believe she had forgotten that day. When he told her that it made her feel, hopeful in one way and relived in another.

__

I must be somewhere near Kikyou's castle she realized and wondered how she was possibly going to get out of her current situation.

Suddenly, something caught her eye. She could see someone near a tree. _Who is that?_ she asked herself as her eyes strained to make out who it was. When a cloud in the sky moved and let more light down she was able to see Kouga attempting to stay out of site.

__

Kouga, could you help me? She tried to yell out to him, but her mouth didn't seem to work. _Of course_ she mentally slapped her forehead _I don't have control of my mouth either._

She looked at Kouga hoping he would help her out. She noticed that his eyes were following her. _He knows I'm in trouble_ she thought_ but he won't help!_ If she could have ran over and punched him, she would have.

Kagome's eyes left Kouga; it made her sick to her stomach, knowing he was right there and not helping her. She looked above the tree line, towards the sky. _Red?_ She didn't know if it was just her imagination, but she thought she saw a glimpse of something red.

She waited till it reappeared, then she saw him. _Inuyasha_ he was jumping over the trees looking for her.

****

xxx With Inuyasha xxx

Inuyasha didn't slow down for Sango, Miroku, or Shippo as he jumped over the trees. He hardly even noticed that they were following him. His mind was only on finding Kagome, nothing else. He was so consumed in his search, that he didn't even notice Kouga hiding by one of the trees.

It only took him a few minutes longer to find her. He could see her walking. _Where is she going?_ he asked himself. She seemed really determined to walk towards something. Once he knew where she was, he thought it would be a good idea to find out where she was going, so he jumped as high as he could to get a good look at whatever was ahead.

"Kikyou's castle!" he said out loud, "Why the hell is she going there?" He landed on the ground and (finally) paused to let the others catch up.

"InuDid you find her?" Sango was gasping to catch her breath when she finally caught him.

Inuyasha waited for Miroku and Shippo to join the two them before he said anything to her. "Yeah, she's going to Kikyou's castle, do any of you know why?"

They all shook their heads. "Why don't we just ask her." Shippo said then ran off to catch Kagome. The other followed.

When Shippo reached Kagome he was a little surprised that she didn't even notice that he was walking beside her. "Kagome?" he tried to grab her attention.

She didn't turn her head. "Kagome, why are you ignoring me?" he almost sounded hurt. Kagome had never done that before.

Inuyasha was the second one to get to Kagome. He looked down at Shippo then back at Kagome. He was a little surprised to see that she was still walking. "Kagome, why are you going to Kikyou's castle?" he asked.

She didn't answer him. "Kagome?" he grabbed her arm and tried to get her to stop walking. But Kagome (without turning her head) reached up, grabbed his hand, and twisted it.

Inuyasha let out a cry when his hand was twisted to the point of breaking. "Kagome!" he yelled, but she just ignored him. Kagome let go of his hand just it time to keep it from breaking, then she started running.

"What the hell just happened?" Inuyasha asked Shippo.

"D-Do you think she doesn't like us anymore?" Shippo asked.

"No." Inuyasha said, "Something is wrong. I just don't know what."

Kagome didn't know what to say. She had tried desperately to talk to Shippo and Inuyasha, but she couldn't move her mouth. It shocked her when her own hand reached up to hurt Inuyasha. She tried to stop under her own power, but it didn't work. And now she was running. _Why am I running?_

Sango and Miroku reached the spot where Inuyasha and Shippo were standing just in time to see Kagome disappear in the distance. "Aren't we going after her?" Miroku asked.

Inuyasha sat down in his dog position and tried to think. He was a little afraid of going to Kikyou's castle. He knew that if he went in to help Kagome he might meet up with Kikyou.

"Inuyasha?"

He stood up and started following Kagome, but this time he walked instead of ran. He looked down at his wrist. It was a little red, but the pain was quickly going away. It surprised him that Kagome was able to use so much strength, especially against him.

xxx With Kikyou xxx

Kikyou stood next to one of the windows and watched Kagome run closer and closer to her castle. She smiled and felt relived, knowing that her plan was going to work.

She was concentrating rather hard to control Kagome's body. Kikyou could control anyone with a weaker spirit body and mind, but Kagome was different. Kagome was strong enough to resist. It took a lot of effort for Kikyou to control her body (she didn't even want to attempt controlling her mind).

She turned away from the window and looked down at her pot of bubbling liquid. She scooped a little bit of it out with a glass she saved for special occasions. "Poor little Kagome." Kikyou mumbled with a hint of sarcasm.

She moved back to the window. Kagome was only a few feet away from the front door to the castle. _I wonder_ Kikyou amused her self. She waited till Kagome had her hand on the front door the stopped controlling her.

Kagome stood there for a few minutes and looked around. _She probably thinks I'm still controlling her_ Kikyou thought. She was really curious about whether or not Kagome would enter the castle or turn and run once she found out she regained control.

****

xxxxxxxxxx

Kagome stood there for a few minutes wondering what was going on. After traveling all night and all morning, she had stopped. Her hand was on the door. She blinked a couple of times and waited for her legs to start moving again.

__

Maybe a small spark of hope came alive in Kagome. _Maybe I have control again_ she thought. She decided to find out by something small, she wiggled her finger. "I can move." She said out loud.

He pulled her hand back from the door and felt a wave of relief, she didn't like not having control over her own body. She took a few steps back and looked up. She have every intention of going and finding Inuyasha, until she saw Kikyou in one of the windows.

She held Kikyou's eye contact for a few moments then moved back to the door. Curiosity had gotten the better of her. She knew that she should have waited for the others to back her up, but she really wanted to know why Kikyou had brought her back here.

Ignoring the intuition she had that was telling her to stop and turn back, she opened the door and stepped in. The castle was filled with a cold and damp air that made it a little hard for Kagome to take proper breaths.

Last time she was at Kikyou's castle, Inuyasha had made her wait outside, so she had no idea where to find Kikyou. A slight breeze blew the door shut and Kagome knew there was no turning back. "Which way do I go?" she asked herself in a small whisper. She turned her head from side to side debating between the two hallways that were on either end of the room.

A chill went down her spine when she stared down the hallway to her left, so she decided to follow that one. It wasn't lit very well. There were a few candles near the walls, but they only provided enough light to allow her to see where she was going.

The hallway ended near some stairs made out of come kind of white stone. There were no other options other then going back, so she slowly made her way up to the second floor. The staircase twisted around itself a couple times, revealing more steps then Kagome thought there where. She was almost out of breath by the time she got all the way up.

When she had finished off the stairs she found herself in a small room. At one end was a table with dinner set out for two people. The rest of the room was filled with all kinds of different candles. Mainly black and red ones, but only a few were lit. The place reminded Kagome of Lady Lei's house.

"Hello Kagome."

Kagome hadn't noticed that Kikyou was standing next to the window. It must have been the same one that she saw Kikyou standing in from outside. She was still looking out the window, she didn't even turn around to talk to Kagome.

"Would you care to look out the window?" she asked.

Kagome simply nodded and moved next to Kikyou. When she looked out she saw that Inuyasha was walking in front of Sango and Miroku with Shippo sitting on his shoulder. She smiled, knowing that Inuyasha was coming for her made her feel all the more safer.

"He's looking for me." Kagome said.

Kikyou took a few steps back. " You and I need to talk. Alone." She waved her arms a little bit and a blue light surrounded the castle. Kagome watched from the window as the others wondered what it was.

xxxxxxxxxx

Inuyasha walked closer and closer to the castle. He was deep in his thoughts, wondering why Kagome acted the way she did. "She didn't seem like herself." He mumbled.

"That's for sure. What did you do to make her mad?" Shippo said.

Inuyasha wasn't aware that he had said that out loud, "I didn't do anything wrong." He said.

"Then why did she hurt your wrist like that?" Sango asked.

Inuyasha looked down at his hand. "I don't know." He decided to ignore his hand and looked towards the castle. He was getting more and more nervous as the neared the castle.

It wasn't till they closer to the door when he noticed something in the window. It was Kikyou. "Kikyou." He whispered to himself. He kept watching the window till he saw Kagome appear in it. "What the hell!" he practically yelled.

Miroku and Sango wondered why he yelled out like that. They looked at the spot where he was staring and saw Kagome in the window. "I wonder what's going on in there." Miroku said out loud.

"I'm going in." Inuyasha said. He took a few more steps forward, but stopped when a blue light blocked his path. It surrounded the castle. "What now!" he yelled.

Shippo jumped off his shoulder and ran to the edge of the light. He stuck out his hand to see if he could, somehow, go threw the light unharmed. Much to his disappointment he received a shock when he tried to touch it.

"Maybe it keeps demons out." Sango said. She closed her eyes and tried to walk across the shield Kikyou made. Like Shippo, she got a shock to. It didn't hurt much, but she couldn't pass the light. It was a stronger shield then any of them thought. "Demon and humans can't pass."

Inuyasha let out a frustrated yell and slammed the blue wall' with his fist as hard as he could, but it didn't do any good. "Damn it!" he yelled out. He wanted to go in and help Kagome, but he couldn't.

xxxxxxxxxx

Kagome turned away from the window and looked at Kagome who was now standing next to the table. She knew that if Inuyasha wouldn't be able to run in and help her she should stay on her toes.

"You look hungry." Kikyou said, "Why don't you sit down."

Kagome's stomach rumbled a little bit, but she shook her head. She didn't want to sit down and eat the food that Kikyou offered her, for all she knew it could be poisoned.

"There is nothing wrong with the food I'm offering you." Kikyou said, making Kagome wonder if she could read her mind or not. After Kagome hesitated a second time Kikyou placed her hands on her hips and gave her a cold look. "Don't make me control your body again."

Kagome didn't want Kikyou controlling her body again, so she slipped into the chair that faced Kikyou. She didn't take her eyes off of the tall dark haired woman as she sat down in the other chair. Kikyou ignored Kagome's eyes and started to eat her food as if Kagome wasn't even there.

"What did you want to talk about?" Kagome asked after a little while.

"My cook went to a great length to create a meal just for you Kagome, it would hurt his feelings if you didn't eat it."

Kagome frowned. "What did you want to talk about?" She hoped that Kikyou couldn't tell how scared she was.

"Kagome, my food isn't poisoned, if I wanted to kill you I would have done it already. I won't tell you why you're here until you finish your food."

The way Kikyou talked to her made Kagome feel like a little kid. She knew there was no way around it so she ate a little bit of the food. It wasn't as bad as she thought it would be and she soon found herself eating more and more until her plate was empty.

"You really were hungry weren't you." Kikyou gave a small smile.

"More then I thought." Kagome muttered.

"You must be thirsty." Kikyou said. She stood up and grabbed a cup that was already filled with some kind of liquid. Kagome grew suspicious, so she didn't take the cup when it was offered.

Kikyou decided to set it on the table, it might be harder then she thought to convince her to drink it. "You seem different from last time I saw you." She said. She set the cup down on the table and tried to act like she wasn't planning anything.

"I'm not." Kagome responded.

Kikyou squinted her eyes a little bit, "Stand up." She commanded, when she did Kikyou took a long hard look. "No. No. There is definitely something different."

She tilted her head back a little bit. Kagome didn't like the whole situation. She felt like Kikyou was trying to stare into her soul. "W-What did you want to talk about?" she asked. Her voice quivered a little bit causing Kikyou to smile.

"You and Inuyasha had sex, didn't you."

Kagome's mouth dropped open, _How could she possible know that_ she thought. She nodded dumbly. "How do you know? D-Do you smell him on me, or something?"

Kikyou shook her head, "I can see it in your eyes. Which brings me to what I wanted to you about."

"What?" Kagome swallowed.

"I have a question for you. Has Inuyasha told you that he loves you?"

Kagome looked down at the floor. "Yes he did." Her eyes shot back up to Kikyou, "And I love him too." She said the last part in a stern voice so that Kikyou wouldn't think it was possible to break them up.

"Well." Kikyou grabbed another glass, filled with water, and handed Kagome the one that was sitting on the table. "Here's to your relationship with him, I hope it turns out better then outs did." Kikyou drank from her cup.

Kagome looked down into her glass; the stuff that Kikyou gave her looked like a type of wine her mother gave her once, so she brought the glass to her lips.

Kikyou watched with much anticipation as the liquid went past Kagome's lips.

xxxxxxxxxx

You guys must have really liked chapter 19. The first day I got 14 reviews, the second day I got 6, the third day I got 9, and the fourth day I got 12. Wow.

I would have had this chapter up sooner, but the Internet on the computer I am using wasn't working.

Seine I got so many reviews for chapter 19, I am only going to ask for one. Just one review.

Lots of love from Daydreamer62386


	21. Kagome's Goodbye With A Knife

****

Disclaimer:

Daydreamer62386 : Do I own Inuyasha yet?

Random Person : No.

Daydreamer62386 : Damn.

****

Notes to my reviewers: I love being the only person who knows how this story is going to end. Ha ha ha ha ha.

Spike of Doom: Don't worry. Even though this is where the tile takes off, I still have two major things that need to happen.

Inufreak831: Don't worry, you can feel free to take your anger out on me any time you need to. My friends do it all the time, it's a really great way to get rid of stress : )

Jammies2000: I agree with you, Kagome did act really stupid at the end of chapter 20, oh well, let's all hope that everything works out for the best.

Captured Moon: What a small world. I saw Spider Man 2 and a hell of a lot of Simpsons too. I'm glad you had a good time.

****

Chapter Twenty-one: Kagome's Goodbye with a Knife

Inuyasha walked back and forth impatiently as Sango and Miroku attempted to break down the barrier of blue light. "Can't you guys go any faster!" he complained.

"Inuyasha!" Sango was already stressed out from the lack of progress she was making, so Inuyasha attitude wasn't helping her. "If you can think of a faster way, do so! Other wise, shut up!"

"Fine." He responded. He took a few steps back and sat down on the ground, hoping to get an outsiders look at the problem. He closed his eyes and tried to think of all the things they already knew.

__

Let's see he thought to himself _Kikyou wants us to stay out, so she can talk to Kagome. She wants us out, but she wants Kagome in._ Suddenly he got an idea. Miroku had grabbed Kagome's arrows when they left the camp to look for her.

Unnoticed by anyone else he grabbed one of her arrows and walked as closely as he was willing to the blue light. "I hope this works." He whispered to himself. He lightly touched Kagome's arrow against the barrier. A smile came across his face when her arrow passed through it easily.

"Hey guys." He called out.

"Not now Inuyasha!" Miroku yelled out.

Inuyasha growled and walked back to Kagome's backpack. "Did you find something that can help?" Shippo asked as Inuyasha shifted through the bag.

"Yeah," he responded, happy that someone was listening to him, "The barrier does not effect Kagome's things. You want to help me."

"Yeah."

Inuyasha and Shippo took some of the ribbons that Kagome had in her bad and tied them to some more of her arrows. When they were finished they had, what looked like, a giant O'. "Climb on." Inuyasha said and Shippo jumped on his shoulder.

He walked back to the barrier and stuck the arrows and ribbon in it so that I created a small door for them to jump through. "You ready to save Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, Shippo gave an exited nod.

"Hey! Miroku! Sango!" Inuyasha yelled out.

"Not now!" was their only response.

"Fine." He mumbled. He took down the little door, partly to make them mad, but mostly to keep them out. He knew that it wouldn't be that hard to help Kagome, so he didn't think it was worth the risk of them getting hurt. Then headed for the door.

"Wait." Sango grabbed Miroku's arm, she noticed that Inuyasha was being really quiet, so she lifted her head up and looked around for him. "Where is Inuyasha and Shippo?"

Miroku looked up too. He caught sight of them just as they entered the castle. "How did they do that!" he yelled out.

"They got in!" Sango stood up and scratched her head, "How?"

"I don't know." Then he slapped his forehead. "That's probably why he kept calling us. Maybe we should have listened."

"I guess."

****

xxxxxxxxxx

Kagome set the cup back down on the table just as she heard the door to the castle slam and Inuyasha's voice calling her name. "He's here for me." Kagome said.

"You can try going to him, but I don't think he'll find you in time."

Kagome's eyes grew wide, "In time for what?" Kikyou just smiled and walked out of the room. "In time for what!" Kagome yelled out again, but Kikyou was already gone.

Inuyasha couldn't decide which hallway to go down, he sniffed the air for Kagome's scent , but couldn't place it. It was mixed to well with Kikyou's. He had never noticed how much they smelled alike. (though he still thought Kagome smelt better.)

"She's up there." Inuyasha turned and found himself face to face with Inuyasha. "You'd better hurry," she said with a wicked smile "the potion I gave her should be working its way through her blood stream by now."

She walked away from Inuyasha with out another word.

"What do you think she meant?" Shippo asked.

"I-I don't know. We'd better hurry." He glanced once more in the direction that Kikyou had disappeared in before running down the hallway and up the stairs.

Kagome could hear footsteps, the kind without shoes, and knew that Inuyasha was getting closer. She started to walk out of the room, but stopped. When she moved she was overcome by a feeling of nausea.

"Inuyasha?" she called out. She started to worry. Her voice was getting weaker and he sight was starting to go black. The last thing she remembered seeing was Inuyasha and Shippo in the doorway, then she blacked out.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha rushed to her side and caught her just as she started to fall to the ground.

"What's wrong with her?" Shippo asked.

"I don't know, maybe we should take her to Kaede."

"You're right." Inuyasha picked Kagome up and started to carry her outside. He was relived to see that the blue light was now gone and he was free to leave the castle without having to jump through any loops.

"Inuyasha!" Sango waved to him. She and Miroku had gotten everything ready, so they could leave. She brought her hand over her mouth when she noticed Kagome. "What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know. We need to get her to Kaede."

"Alright."

****

xxxxxxxxxx

It didn't take them very long to reach Kaede's house, it seemed that when Kagome's health was in question. Inuyasha took her inside the house and placed her on the floor, in the same spot she was in last time something posioned her.

Kaede looked at Kagome. She lifted up one of her eyes lids, listened to her breathing, and numerous other things, but came up empty. "If I didn't know better," she said "I would say that Kagome is merely sleeping."

"But she passed out right in front of me." Inuyasha said.

"Yeah. And what about what Kikyou said." Shippo added.

"What did Kikyou say?" Kaede asked.

"She said," Inuyasha answered for Shippo, "That the potion should be working its way through her blood stream."

Kaede closed her eyes and thought about it for a few seconds, "Well, it looks like nothing is wrong with her, we should all just wait until morning."

"What to we do until then?" Inuyasha didn't like the idea of doing nothing to help her.

"Inuyasha, I know you're worried, but there is nothing we can do."

Inuyasha growled. "Why don't we go outside." Sango suggested. "Maybe some sunlight will take your mind off of things."

"Doubt it." He mumbled, but allowed Sango and Miroku to drag him outside. He did attempt, only to himself, that the warm air did feel good. He picked a spot not to far form Kaede's house and sat down to watch Shippo play with Sango and Miroku.

After a while his mind did stop thinking and worrying about Kagome. He closed his eyes and allowed him mind to wander around, thinking about meaningless things. He was hardly aware of what was going on around him, till he heard Shippo scream.

"Kagome Kagome, you're alright!"

Inuyasha's eyes shot open and he saw Kagome standing next to him. "Kagome, are you alright?" He stood up and grabbed her hand.

Kagome turned her head and gave Inuyasha the meanest look she possibly could the pulled her hand away from him. "Don't touch me." She said faintly then walked over to Shippo.

"Shippo!" she called out happily

Inuyasha just stared at Kagome, wondering why she had just acted like that. "Kagome?"

Kagome put her hands on her hips and turned to face Inuyasha, "What." She said sharply.

"What's wrong with you?"

"What! You actually care about how I feel now." Inuyasha was a little worried about the way Kagome was looking at him. Whenever her eyes were on him they seemed icy.

"Kagome," Sango put her hand on her shoulder, "Are you sure you're ok?"

Kagome responded to Sango in her normal sweet way. "I'm fine, really. I'm just surprised that pig actually cares." She shot Inuyasha one more cold look before picking up Shippo. "Kaede wanted me to get some fire wood, you want to come with?"

"Sure." Shippo was happy that Kagome was all right, though he was a little baffled about why she was being so mean to Inuyasha.

Sango turned to Inuyasha once Shippo and Kagome were gone. "Are you sure you didn't do anything to make her mad."

"Yes. I'm sure. She wasn't mad at me last night when we were talking."

"Maybe you said something that made her mad, and you just didn't realize it at the time." Miroku suggested.

"No." Inuyasha said "All we talked about was how Kouga reminder her of me."

"I've never thought about that before." Sango said.

"Yeah, now that I think about it Inuyasha and Kouga are a lot alike."

"No we're not!" Inuyasha growled at Miroku for even suggesting that.

"Well if you thing about it" Sango sat down next to Inuyasha, "You two do have a lot in common. You're both really stubborn. You both like to start fights. Plus you're both in love with Kagome."

"He doesn't really love her." Inuyasha mumbled.

Sango and Miroku didn't really know how to respond to that. They had always thought Kouga was just infatuated with Kagome, but they can never tell what is really in someone's heart.

****

xxxxxxxxxx

Kagome and Shippo walked back to Kaede's hands with their arms full of firewood. They were talking to each other and laughing. Inuyasha thought that she was in a better mood, so he called out her name.

Kagome just ignored him as she walked with Shippo into the house. "What the hell was that about?" he asked himself.

He got up and went into the house too. Kagome set the wood in a pile at one end of the room and turned around. She frowned when she saw that Inuyasha had taken the seat that she wanted, but ended up sitting across form him.

"I almost have dinner ready." Kaede said.

Sango and Miroku came into the house just as Kaede was serving the food. "I thought I smelt something good."

"Thank you Miroku." Kaede said.

"It's nice to see that some men still have manners." Kagome added. Even though she wasn't looking at him, everyone could tell that she was referring to Inuyasha.

"Kagome. What is wrong with you?" Inuyasha finally yelled. "Why the hell are you acting so mean?"

"Acting mean! You haven't been an angle yourself mister!"

"Kagome! Just tell me what I've done wrong so I can say sorry already!"

Kagome let out a harsh cold laugh. "As if a simple apology would make up for all the shirt I've put up with this past year."

Everyone stayed silent. They had never heard Kagome talk like that before.

"I'm sorry Kaede," Kagome pushed her plate away. "Your cooking is really good, but I lost my appetite. I'm going for a walk." She stood up and walked out the door without another word.

"What was that about?" Miroku asked. Nobody else spoke for a while; they had no idea why Kagome was so mad at Inuyasha.

Kagome walked out of the house as quickly as she could. Her hands were so tightly in a fist that her nails actually cut into her skin. She hated Inuyasha so much; she needed to get as far away from him as possible.

It only took her a few moments to get lost in the woods near Kaede's house, but for some reason she didn't care. _As long as I'm not anywhere near Inuyasha I'm fine_ she told herself.

"Kagome."

She turned sharply when she heard someone call her name. Inside she hoped and prayed that it was Inuyasha and was relived to see that it was Kouga. "What are you doing here? Shippo told me that you and Inuyasha had a fight and you ran off."

Kouga smiled, he was glad that the potion had worked, now all he had to do was play his cards right. "Well, we did get in a fight."

"What was it about?"

"Inuyasha was... say a bunch of mean thing behind you back."

"I'm not surprised."

"You look upset, is something wrong?"

Kagome sat down on the ground, "No. I just needed to get away from Inuyasha."

Kouga saw this as his chance. "Kagome, I still love you. You could always stay we me."

"You?"

"Yes, you could be my mate. You will never have to see Inuyasha again."

Kagome looked off into the distance and thought about it. The idea of being taken away from Inuyasha seemed wonderful, but she didn't want to simply walk out on Shippo, Miroku, and Sango.

"I don't know Kouga, I'd have to think about it." She stood up.

"Kagome! What's he doing here!" Inuyasha walked over to Kagome, his eyes on Kouga.

"Kouga wants me to be his mate." Kagome responded.

Inuyasha looked sharply at Kouga; "I can answer for her, NO!"

"You can not answer for me!" Kagome yelled, she placed her hand on her forehead as a headache started, "This is why I have such a hard time being around you."

"If you hate being around me so much, why do you fall asleep in my arms every night?"

"What are you talking — no. Inuyasha I don't like it when you make up stories about me." She turned away from him and faced Kouga. "Fine, let me get my things, then I'll go with you."

"What!" Inuyasha couldn't believe his ears.

Kagome ignored him and walked in the direction Inuyasha came from (assuming it was the way to Kaede's house). When she reached it Shippo ran up and jumped on her shoulder. "Kagome, you want to play a game?"

"Not now. I need to get ready."

"Ready for what?" Sango asked.

Kagome hadn't noticed Miroku and Sango standing a short distance away from her. "I'm gonna stay with Kouga." She mumbled, setting Shippo down.

"What! No!" Sango yelled out. "Kagome, you are my best friend in the whole world, but how can you do that to Inuyasha!"

"Sango, Inuyasha is the reason I'm leaving." Kagome said, then walked into the house to get her bag.

Inuyasha ran to Kaede's house and saw Sango, Miroku, and Shippo sitting in front of it. The looked a little baffled. "Where's Kagome?" He asked.

"Inside." Shippo said.

"Inuyasha what is going on?" Miroku asked, but Inuyasha just ignored him and headed inside the house.

When he got in there, Kagome was just finishing packing the last of her things. "Kagome, why are you going off with Kouga?" he asked in a calm tone that even surprised him.

"Because, he asked me to be his mate."

"But Kagome. You and I -"

"You and I, what. You've been nothing but cruel to me."

"I thought I was being nice. Nicer then I've been to anyone."

"If that's what you call nice, I'd hate to be on your bad side." She stood up and tried to walk out the door, but Inuyasha blocked it.

"Let me go!" she yelled out.

"No Kagome, I can't."

"Sit."

Inuyasha slammed into the ground and Kagome stepped on his back while walking out. She was a short distance away from the house when he grabbed her arm. "Kagome, don't go."

"Inuyasha! Let go!"

"No!" he yelled, "I don't care how many sits' you give me. I'm not gonna let you go."

Kagome used her free hand to grab the knife that Miroku had given her and held it up to his neck. "Inuyasha, let go." Deep down she knew that she wouldn't hurt Inuyasha, but right now she was extremely mad.

"Maybe it was a bad idea, giving her that." Miroku whispered to Sango.

Inuyasha looked into Kagome's eyes, but eventually let go of her. "Kagome," he said in more of a whisper "please don't go."

"Inuyasha, you can't change my mind." She said.

Inuyasha bit his lip as she walked away.

Kagome didn't know why she felt guilty as she walked away from Inuyasha. She hated him, so it came as a complete surprised when she imagined giving him a goodbye kiss. _What the hell is wrong with me?_ she asked herself.

After Inuyasha was out of her site, she called out for Kouga. He jumped down from a tree and landed softly behind her. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure you'll be able to leave Inuyasha behind."

"I would like nothing more."

Kouga smiled. Kagome was finally going to be his mate. "Get on, I'll take you to my cave."

Kagome climbed onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. Even though she was happy to finally be getting away form Inuyasha, she couldn't help but feel like something was a little off. The feeling stayed with her for the rest of the day, but she didn't know what it was that caused it.

xxxxxxxxxx

Now that I posted this, I'm gonna go dye my hair. Next time you read one of my chapters, my hair will be a totally different color.

I want 6 reviews.

Lots of LoveDaydreamer62386


	22. The Longest Month Of Inuyasha's Life

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha

****

Notes to my reviewers: Wow, I didn't know you guys would get so emotional over chapter 21. Plus for everyone that asked ... my hair is now red.

KiLaLa, Kagome's Daughter : Darn, I hate to disappoint you.

Captured Moon : I'm sure you didn't mean to, but your review gave me inspiration for the next part of my story. Yeah. You should feel proud.

Inuyasha831 : Don't worry. They will end up together in the end. Even I don't have the heart to pull apart peanut butter and jelly.

Spike of Doom : Wow. I've gotten a lot of reviews where people called Kouga names, but you are the first to call him a sneaky bastard. I think it fits him well.

Commitmentette : ... you'd like me to say yes wouldn't you ... ha ha ha (evil laugh).

Natalie : Thanks. I'm sure my story likes you too.

****

Chapter Twenty-two: The Longest Month of Inuyasha's Life

A month had gone by seine Kagome left the group. Every once and a while Kouga or one of this wolf brothers would bring a message written by Kagome, but the little pieces of paper never mentioned anything about Inuyasha. She made a special point not to mention him or anything about him.

Every time a messenger came Inuyasha got a hopeful look in his eyes, but it would always fade when Sango would shake her head, telling him _No. She hasn't tried to talk to you yet._

To Inuyasha the month felt like a year or two. He didn't really do anything other then sit in the tree and sigh. Miroku and Sango had to force him to eat and he hardly slept. He, overall, felt like half a person without Kagome around.

"Inuyasha," Sango stood below the tree with Shippo sitting in her arms "do you want to look for more jewel shards?" Their quest had basically come to a standstill without Kagome around.

He shook his head, but didn't bother speaking or even looking at her.

"Why don't you go relax in the hot springs for a little while." She was trying to think of something for him to do.

Once again, he shook his head. "No." His voice sounded really raspy. Like he hadn't talked for a long time.

Sango sighed and walked back to Kaede's house. "I wish I could think of some way to help him." she said out loud.

"We could get Kagome back." Shippo suggested.

"I don't know. Kagome seemed really mad when she left."

"Nobody can stay mad forever, right."

Sango smiled a little bit, "I don't know. Inuyasha can get on anyone's nerves."

Miroku joined Sango as they entered the house. "Any luck with Inuyasha?" he asked.

"No. I'm starting to get worried about his health." She mumbled.

Shippo jumped out of Sango's arms and walked to the door. "Where are you going Shippo?" Sango asked.

"I — I'm gonna go talk to Inuyasha." He said quickly before leaving.

"You can try." Miroku yelled out as Shippo disappeared.

Shippo jumped up the tree and landed hard in Inuyasha's lap. Inuyasha let out a grunt at the sudden weight, but didn't respond in any other way. "Inuyasha, do you want to come with me?"

"Where are you going?"

Shippo was surprised, nobody had gotten him to say more then two words over the last month. "When the next messenger comes, I'm gonna follow them and go find Kagome."

"No."

"Why not, you miss her don't you!"

"Yeah, but -"

"But what! If you miss her, you should go get her."

"Shippo, you're to young to understand."

"Tell me. Why don't you want to go find her?"

Inuyasha looked away from Shippo. "When she left the group she looked at me with pure hatred. I couldn't stand that look. I rather never see her again, then know that she hates me."

"But you've made her mad before"

"There's a difference between being angry at someone and hating someone."

Shippo jumped down from the tree. "Fine, I'll go alone." He started to walk back to the house but stopped. "Inuyasha. When I leave don't tell Sango and Miroku, ok."

"Why?"

"I don't want them to worry."

"They'll worry anyways."

"Not if you tell them that I'm at a friends or something."

"Fine."

"Thanks Inuyasha"

Shippo only had to wait another day for the messenger to come. He was sitting next to Miroku eating breakfast when Inuyasha yelled out his name. "Coming!" he yelled back.

"Inuyasha just called Shippo, do you think he's getting better?" Sango asked.

"I don't know, we could check."

They both walked to the door and looked out. The couldn't see Shippo anywhere, but Inuyasha walked over to them with a small piece of paper in his hand. "Here." He handed it to them, "This is from Kagome."

"Where's Shippo?"

"H-He went to a friends, I think."

"Oh." Sango saw this as her chance "Inuyasha, do you want some breakfast?"

"No."

"But you need to eat. You've lost a lot of weight."

"I don't care." Inuyasha mumbled before jumping back into his usual spot in the tree.

Sango let out a sigh and walked back into the house, followed by Miroku. "What did Kagome send us this time?" he asked. Sango unfolded the letter and read it out loud, she didn't know it, but Inuyasha's ear twitched a little bit. He was carefully listening, any news about Kagome made him feel a little better.

__

Hello everyone,

I wish I could come see you guys. I miss all of you, especially Shippo. I would come down there, but I don't want to risk seeing Inuyasha again. I've decided to try and convince Kouga to let you guys come up here for a few days. It might take a little work though, you know that nobody is allowed to know where the den is. Don't worry, he'll eventually let you. Not many people know it, but he is a really big softy on the inside. He kind of reminds me of someone, but I don't know who. Oh well, I'll think of it later.

Love Kagome.

Inuyasha's ears drooped when Sango was finished with the letter. The only time Kagome mentioned him was when she said — _I don't want to risk seeing Inuyasha again_ -. He didn't know what to think.

Kagome was the only person who ever stuck by him, even when he had been in his dangerous demon states. She was the very first, true, friend that he made. He had often fantasized that they would spend the rest of their lives together. He had even once tinkered with the idea of starting a family with Kagome. Now all that was gone.

xxxxxxxxxx

Kagome watched as the messenger walked away with her note and sighed. She wanted to deliver it herself so badly, but she knew that Inuyasha was there. She turned around and walked back into the cave.

Kouga was out hunting with some of the other of the wolf demons. There were only a few still in the den, but she didn't talk to them much, so she was a little bored. Finding nothing interesting around her, she walked into her room.

The first day Kouga brought her here, she demanded her own room. She told him that she didn't want to sleep in the same room with a bunch of other men.

It wasn't much. She had a bed against one of the walls. It was made out of several animal skins piled on top of each other. Beside her bed was her backpack. She reached inside of it and found a book she had been reading for the last few days, sat down, and opened it up.

She was getting so involved with the story that she didn't even notice Kouga had returned until he dropped a dead pig on the ground in front of her. "I've got some meat for you to cook tonight."

"Kouga, if you want me to cook dinner, you'll have to ask." She had obviously not lost the little spark that everyone siad she had.

"Will you cook this pig for dinner?"

"Alright. I'll make stew." She closed her book and set it on the ground. "Kouga, could you do a favor for me."

"Depends." He sat down next to her.

"I really miss my friends Kouga. Could they come visit the den."

"You want Inuyasha to come don't you."

Kagome looked at Kouga with a baffled expression, "No. I just want to see Shippo, Sango, and Miroku again."

"I don't know."

"Please."

"I'll think about it Kagome." He kissed her cheek and walked out of her room. Kagome stretched out on her bed. A small smile came across her face when she thought about getting to see her friends again.

She rolled over onto her side and tried to take a quick nap before she had to start cooking dinner for everyone, but a sudden uneasy feeling came into her stomach. She sat up and covered her mouth, she felt like she was going to vomit.

She drank a little bit of water and waited for the feeling to go away. It wasn't the first time that it had happened. She had been getting that sick' feeling almost everyday now, but she couldn't explain why.

Anytime that someone asked her what was wrong, she told them it was the stomach flue. However, it seemed a little different from the normal flue. Instead of being sick all day, like she normally would be, she would only feel like she was going to vomit for a few moments then she would be normal again.

She placed her hand over her stomach hoping whatever bug' she had would go away soon.

****

xxxxxxxxxx

Shippo couldn't help but feel proud of himself when he saw the wolf's den in the distance. He would finally get to see Kagome, and hopefully convince her to come back to their little group.

He waited till the coast was clear before running out into the open. He was getting closer and closer to the entrance of the den, before someone grabbed his tail and lifted him up it the air.

"Who are you?" It was one of the wolf demons that Kouga told to guard the den.

"I'm Shippo." He tried to sound tough "Kagome will be really mad if she finds out that you pulled on my tail."

"Y-You know who Kagome is."

"Yeah. She's my friend, and I want to see her."

The guard didn't know what to do. Kouga had told him not to let anyone in unless they had special permission from him, personally. "I'm not supposed to let you in."

"Why not?"

"Only Kouga gets to decided who is allowed in and out."

"Then get Kouga!" Shippo practically yelled. "I'm not leaving till I see Kagome!"

The wolf demon carried Shippo into the entrance of the cave, but no further, before yelling out for Kouga. They only had to wait a few seconds before Kouga jumped down in front of them.

"Shippo what are you doing here?" Kouga asked.

"I came to see Kagome."

"She's taking a nap now. Besides, you're not allowed in the wolf den. Go back to Kaede's house."

"Kagome is going to be mad when she finds out how you and your wolf pals have been treating me."

Kouga thought about it for a little bit. "You're right." He pointed to the wolf guard, "Drop him."

The wolf demon set Shippo down on the ground. "Where is her room?" he asked once his feet were planted firmly on the ground.

"Over there. Don't stay too long, I don't want Inuyasha to come looking for you." Kouga pointed him in the direction.

Shippo ignored him and walked past all the wolf demons with his head held high. He had never felt more nervous and brave at the same time. _This must be how Inuyasha feels before a fight_ he thought to himself.

He found her room really quickly, partly because he was able to pick up her scent better now. He walked through the door and saw her sleeping on the bed everyone had made for her. "Kagome." He whispered.

Kagome flinched a little bit, but assumed that Shippo's voice was part of a dream she was having. She didn't wake up until Shippo actually placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Shippo!" she said happily, bringing him into a tight hug. "I've missed you."

"I missed you too. But there is someone who misses you more."

"Who?"

"Inuyasha."

"Inuyasha! Why would he miss me?"

"Because he loves you."

Kagome snorted a little bit, "He doesn't love me. He hates me. He is always mean to me. That's why I left."

"What about all the times he was nice to you"

"What times?"

Shippo stared at Kagome, confused for a minutes, but then he slowly understood what was going on, "Kikyou did this to you, didn't she?"

"What do you mean?"

"You can't remember how much you love Inuyasha and how much he loves you. What did she do to you?"

Kagome started to sound a little worried. "I-Inuyasha and I don't love each other."

"Yes you guys do." Shippo jumped across the room and reached into Kagome's backpack and pulled out her notebook. "See." He turned to the page with Kagome and Inuyasha sitting in the grass, Inuyasha's arm around her waist.

"W-When did I draw this?"

"I don't know, a while ago. And what about your gold chain."

"What about my gold chain." Kagome's hand flew up to the necklace around her neck.

"That was one of the gifts that Inuyasha gave you for your birthday."

"What?"

"Remember. You and I were swimming in the river, you found that necklace at the bottom, then found out that Inuyasha had hid it there to surprise you."

Kagome's eyes opened wide as the memory came back. She remembered feeling so guilty and waiting for Inuyasha to get back from wherever he had gone. She even remembered hugging him and saying sorry for finding the gift.

"And what about," Shippo could tell that he was having an effect on her "this." he turned to the last page where Inuyasha had written his note of love.

Kagome grabbed the notebook and looked at it. It took her a few moments, but she remembered the night that she read it. She remembered how cute Inuyasha looked when he was sleeping. And she remembered crawling into bed next to him and whispering Kagome is in love with Inuyasha.'

Tears came to her eyes as more and more memories came back to her. She remembered her birthday night. She remembered the way his lips felt. But mainly she remembered listening to his heart beat as she would sleep.

"Kagome?" Shippo was a little worried now that Kagome was crying.

Kouga walked into the room. "Shippo time is up."

Kagome had her hand covering her face, she was too upset to protest against it so she just stayed silent. When Shippo saw that Kagome wasn't making any effort to let him stay, he walked out of the door without any fuss and started on the long trip back to Kaede's house.

"Kagome, is something wrong?" Kouga rushed to her side.

"N-Nothing." She didn't feel like talking to Kouga about all these new memories. _Maybe in the morning when I've sorted all this out_ she thought to herself.

"Why don't you just go to bed, I'll have someone else cook dinner."

Kagome nodded and laid back down on the bed. She didn't get very much sleep that night though. Shippo seemed to have broken down a dam of memories about Inuyasha that she didn't even know she had. Just before dawn she did, somehow, drift into an uninterrupted sleep.

She woke up around noon and felt Kouga's arm wrapped loosely around her. "Kouga." She poked him in the ribs a little bit. "Kouga."

He eventually awoke and sat up. "What?"

"Usually you're up by noon"

"I know, but you seemed really upset last night, so I decided to spend more time with you today."

Kagome rolled out of her little bed and stood up, "Kouga. Could I ask you something"

"Sure."

"Promise me you won't lie."

"Promise."

Kagome took a deep breath. "Did" she tried to think of how to word her question "Did Inuyasha and I ever fall in love."

"Who told you that?"

"Shippo."

"Do you believe Shippo?"

"Well, normally I wouldn't have, but last night I kept getting all these memories, but I don't even know if they are real or not. That's why I'm asking you. Were Inuyasha and I a couple?"

Kouga looked away from Kagome. Somehow Shippo had broken the spell and now he needed to think of what to say. He didn't want to lie to Kagome, but he didn't want her to go running off after Inuyasha.

"Kagome — you and Inuyasha," he looked her right in the eyes "were — and probably still are — in love."

Kagome walked over to Kouga and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you Kouga. I just needed to know that I wasn't going crazy. Thank you for telling me the truth."

"What are you going to do now?" he asked once she let go of him.

"I'm going back." She avoided his eyes as she packed all her things as quickly as she could.

"Kagome"

She could hear the sadness in his voice as she put her backpack on. "Kouga." She talked softly, knowing that this wasn't easy for him. "You don't want me for a mate."

"Yes I do."

"Kouga, you only think you do. Even if Kikyou gave me another potion, deep down you know that I would never love you as much as you love me. My heart belongs to Inuyasha and none other."

She started to walk away from him, but he grabbed her arm. "Kagome, please don't go."

"Sorry Kouga, but I have to." She kissed him softly on the cheek and walked out of the den without another word.

****

xxxxxxxxxx

Hip hip hooray

Kagome is finally going back to Inuyasha.

The half size lovable and always adorable Shippo saves the day again.

Before you guys send me — at least 7 reviews — I want to ask you a question. Has my story ever disappointed you? Like did I ever lead up to something, then totally made it suck?

Lots of love Daydreamer62386


	23. One Hell Of A Stomach Flue

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

****

Notes to my reviewers:

Kaoru Mitsumi-sama : Someone did tell me that my story sucked, but your review made me feel better : )

Spike of Doom : Thanks for being honest

Captured Moon : I don't really know what it was about your review that inspired me, but it did. Thanks. Have fun on your trip.

KiLaLa, Kagome's Daughter : My hair used to be a brown / blond. It was really boreing, I needed something new and wild.

Commitmentette : ... maybe...

****

Chapter Twenty-three: One Hell of a Stomach Flue

Inuyasha had gone another night without sleeping. The sun was just starting to rise when he noticed Shippo walking back into camp. "Back from your friends so soon." He mumbled. Shippo gave him a small wave and walked into Kaede's house.

"Where were you?" Miroku and Sango asked the second Shippo entered.

"Didn't Inuyasha tell you?"

"Yeah, but usually you don't stay out all night." Sango said.

"Sorry." Shippo mumbled before curling up in his little bed and going to sleep. He slept through most of the morning and woke up alone just before noon. He stretched his arms before walking outside and seeing that Inuyasha still hadn't moved from his spot.

"Inuyasha." He called out.

"Hmm."

"Why do you just sit around all day?"

"Because, I don't see any reason to get up. What's the point?"

Shippo jumped onto a branch not very far away from Inuyasha's spot. "Do you want to know what happened when I talked to Kagome."

"You talked to her?" Inuyasha was a little bit jealous.

"Yeah. I got to the den and found her in some kind of bedroom."

"Bedroom? Was Kouga there?"

"Well, he came in later, but mainly it was just me and Kagome."

"D-Did she say anything about me?"

"Kind of. I told her that you missed her."

Inuyasha's ears twitched up a little bit. "Really. What did she say?"

"She seemed confused a little bit."

"Confused? Why?"

"She said something about you always being mean to her."

Inuyasha thought back to the day Kagome left with Kouga. "Yeah, I remember her saying something like that to me."

"That's why," Shippo continued, "I think this is all Kikyou's doing."

"What?"

"I think Kikyou gave her some kind of potion or did some kind of magic to make her forget about you."

"How do you know?"

"When I told her about all the times you were nice to her, she didn't know what I was talking about. Then she started crying and Kouga told me to leave."

"Shippo!" Sango called out Shippo's name. She walked under the tree and was a little surprised to see him and Inuyasha having a conversation. "I hate to break this up, but I need Shippo for a second."

Shippo jumped down from the tree and landed in the spot Sango was standing. "What do you need me for?"

"I want to cook lunch, but I need a demon's nose to find a certain herb for me. Will you do it?"

"Sure."

Inuyasha stopped listening to what the two of them were saying and sorted trough the information Shippo had given him. He had decided that Shippo was right, Kagome's memory had somehow been tampered with. After mentally beating himself up for not realizing this sooner, he tried to think of something he could do about.

He didn't even notice that Sango had been calling him till she tossed a small rock at his head.

"Ouch. What!"

"Lunch time."

"I'm not hungry."

"Inuyasha! You will eat!" she yelled.

"No I won't!" he yelled back.

Sango tossed her arms in the air after giving up on their little argument and started to walk back into Kaede's, "Inuyasha, you'll have to eat something soon."

"Feh."

"Will Inuyasha be joining us for lunch?" Kaede asked when Sango stepped inside the house.

"No." She sat down next to Miroku and started eating her share. Outside Inuyasha drifted off into his own world, not really paying any attention to what was going on around him, until something snapped him back into reality.

__

Am I going crazy he thought to himself as he sniffed the air _or is that Kagome I smell._ He jumped down from the tree and took a deep breath in. "Yes, she is here," he said to himself "I can smell her."

He started running in the direction that he scent was coming from. He had more energy then he thought, considering the amount of sleep he had gotten over the last month. He kept running until he finally found Kagome sitting by the river, she seemed to be looking down at her reflection.

****

xxxxxxxxxx

Kagome woke up just as the sun started to come down through the trees. She stretched a little before sitting up. Sometime in the middle of the night she had set up a little camp and slept. Unlike Shippo, she decided not to spend the entire night traveling.

She stood up and looked around her. _Oh, I'm only half an hour away from Kaede's house_ she thought happily. She didn't realize she had traveled so far last night. The thought of seeing Inuyasha again had kept her motivated.

After getting dressed, she packed up her blanket and started walking again. She followed the river most of the time and didn't stop walking till her stomach started acting up again. This time is was worse then before, she actually knew that she would throw up.

She dropped her backpack on the ground and ran into the bushes. After the whole disgusting ordeal was over she walked back to the river and sat down.

The first thing she did was reach into her backpack and pull out her toothbrush and toothpaste. The taste in her mouth was absolutely horrible. She used the water from the river to wash out the toothpaste then placed her stuff back into her bag.

She looked down at her reflection to see if she looked pail or anything when she heard a voice behind her. "K-Kagome." It was Inuyasha.

She stood up and smiled at him. "Inu-" she started to talk, but he moved next to her in what seemed like the blink of an eye and brought her closer for a kiss. _Good thing I brushed my teeth_ Kagome thought to herself as Inuyasha's tongue slipped past her lips.

He had his arms wrapped tightly around her, almost like he was afraid that she would disappear if he let go. They broke apart only for air, Inuyasha was about to lean in for another kiss, but Kagome stopped him.

"I'm gonna be sick." She mumbled and ran off again into the bushes.

"Are you alright?" he asked when she came back.

"Yeah," she sat down and brushed her teeth again, "I have the flue." When she was finished she put everything back into her bag and stood up. She walked closely to Inuyasha and buried her face in his chest.

He nuzzled her neck a little bit, "Kagome, I missed you so much."

"I know, I'm sorry." She wrapped her arms around his neck and tried to listen to his heartbeat, she hadn't realized how much she missed it.

"You just left. I thought you hated me."

"I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry."

"I love you." Inuyasha said. He practically ignored her apology.

"I love you too." She hugged him tightly.

Inuyasha kissed the top of her forehead, "Come on. Sango just got done cooking lunch." He held her hand the whole time that they walked back.

Kagome glanced up at Inuyasha every few minutes. He looked different from the last time she saw him. He was a little thinner and he looked really tired. "Inuyasha, are you ok?"

"Yeah."

"You look different."

"I haven't been eating and sleeping as much as I should."

"Why."

He shrugged his shoulders a little bit; "I didn't feel like it. Not without you around."

Kagome placed a hand over her heart, "Oh Inuyasha. If you starve to death one day, I'm gonna feel really guilty."

Inuyasha smiled as he and Kagome made the rest of the way to Kaede's house. When they got in they were both surprised to see that Kaede, was in fact, the only person there, "Where is everyone?" Inuyasha asked.

"They went for a walk," she glanced up expecting to only see Inuyasha, but was pleasantly surprised to see Kagome standing next to him. "Kagome! It so good to see you." She gave her hug.

While in that hug Kaede whispered in her ear, "Try to get Inuyasha to eat and take a nap." Kagome nodded and served herself two plates of food. She sat down and leaned against the wall.

Inuyasha took the spot next to her and Kaede started to walk out the door. "Where are you going?" Kagome asked.

"I think that Miroku, Shippo, and Sango would like to know you're back." The she left.

Kagome laughed a little bit, "Did everyone miss me that much?"

"Yeah."

Kagome handed Inuyasha one of the plates and watched him take the first bite before eating her own. The food was really good, much better then anything given to her in the wolf's den.

Inuyasha ate his food quickly, then spent most of the time starring at Kagome. She looked up, noticed his eyes, and blushed. "What?" she giggled a little bit.

"N-Nothing."

"Come on, tell me."

"Nothing. It just, for a second, you seemed different."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know, you just had a certain sparkle in you eyes."

Kagome smiled and tugged on his shoulder, "Ok, now lay down."

"Why?"

"Kaede wants me to get you to take a nap."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes but finally decided to give in. He laid down, using Kagome's lap as a pillow. Kagome reached down and rubbed his ears while he slept. Silence filled the little house for about 20 minutes.

Kagome heard the faint sound of Sango's voice, she was yelling out to Shippo, telling him to slow down. She wondered what that meant until Shippo burst into to the room. "Kagome!" he screamed.

The loud voice or the small demon caused Inuyasha's eyes to snap open. "Shut up runt." He mumbled, he was a little grumpy that Shippo had woken him up in such a rude way.

"Sorry." Shippo said a little softer.

"Whatever." He responded. He sat up and rubbed his eyes.

Shippo took this opportunity to leap into Kagome's arms. "I knew you'd come back."

Kagome laughed.

"Kagome!" Miroku and Sango yelled when they entered the house.

"Stop yelling!" Inuyasha growled, covering his ears.

Miroku and Sango ignored him while they hugged Kagome. Inuyasha would have complained about being ignored, but he was too happy to have Kagome back. Everyone seemed a lot happier now.

xxxxxxxxxx

The entire group spent the whole day enjoying the outdoors. They went for walks, played games, even swam a little bit. Inuyasha was almost like Kagome's shadow. He always walked next to her or behind her. He always sat down next to her. He hardly ever left her side.

She only complained about it once. When she did he told her that he was just making up for lost time. Kagome thought that was one of the sweetest things he had said to her all day (other then I love you').

Dinner was later then normal. Kaede and Sango wanted to go to special lengths to cook some of Kagome's favorite foods. Everyone ate while chatting about random things, while avoiding the subject of where Kagome had been the past month. It almost seemed like it never happened.

Shippo fell asleep halfway through dinner, so Kaede took him to a different room to sleep in. Sango and Miroku decided it was getting late and they went to sleep too. "Aren't you going to bed?" Kagome asked Inuyasha, "You must be really tired."

Inuyasha shrugged, "Not really."

"Alright." Kagome grabbed something from her backpack then started to walk out of the house.

"Where are you going?" Inuyasha asked.

"You can follow me if you want." She replied.

He eventually did follow her, wondering the whole time where they were going. After a few minutes of walking Inuyasha found that he was at the hot springs. Kagome had her back to him when she started to pull off her shirt.

"What are you doing?"

"Taking a bath. I must smell like wolfs."

"D-Do you want me to leave?" he asked.

"You don't have to." She said.

Inuyasha watched Kagome. She finished undressing then walked into the spring. He sat down in the grass and tilted his head to the side. The moon light reflected in the water, making it look like Kagome was bathing in a white glowing light.

She reached for the item she had brought along. It turned out to be a bar of soap with a small hand towel wrapped around it "Do you want to join me?" Kagome asked as she lathered the cloth up with soap.

It took a little while for Kagome's words to register in his mind. He smiled at her boldness and quickly decided to join her. When he was waist deep he reached out and pulled Kagome closer to him for a kiss.

Kagome wrapped one arm around his neck; it felt so good to be back in his arms. When they broke apart for air Kagome held the soapy cloth higher. "Would you like to do the honors."

"Honors of what?"

"The honors of washing the scent of wolfs away."

Inuyasha smirked a little bit, "Gladly." He lifted Kagome up and held her just above the water with one hand, then took the cloth into his other hand. He squeezed it a little bit causing suds to come out then started by bringing it to her face.

He gently rubbed it over her forehead, nose, and cheeks. He ran his finger gently along her lips before moving on to her neck. He was a little impressed at how good he was doing, considering that he only had one free hand.

Kagome was enjoying this massage. Inuyasha's hands were a lot softer then they looked and they felt really good against her skin.

Inuyasha loved the look of relaxation on Kagome's face as he rubbed along her collarbone and shoulders. His hand moved to one of her breast, rubbing it lightly and playing a little with her nipple, causing it to slightly harden.

Kagome moaned a little bit, he smiled, knowing it was him that caused it. He moved to her other breast and repeated the same process. He could pick up a little bit of lust in her scent and tried not to laugh. He moved on, rubbing the area just below her breast and over her stomach. He liked the small gurgling noise that Kagome stomach made when he put pressure on it.

When he got his fill of that cute sound his hands roamed down to her hips. He rubbed them a little bit while slowly moving inward. Kagome took in a sharp breath when Inuyasha's hand roomed over that special spot on a female.

Pleasure shot through her entire body, "Inuyasha." Her voice shook as she spoke.

Inuyasha smiled. He slid his hand gently along her legs. "You have really soft skin." He mumbled. When he was done massaging her entire body he dipped her under water, washing all the soap away.

While under water Kagome moved out of Inuyasha's arms. He looked around for her for a few seconds till she reemerged. When her head was once again above the water, she instantly brought Inuyasha closer to her for a kiss.

Without breaking the kiss, he lifted her up and moved her to the grass. When she felt the grass beneath her she opened her eyes and looked up at Inuyasha. "Hold on." She whispered.

Kagome pushed Inuyasha so that he was laying on the grass beside her then started to place kisses on his neck. He tried to run his fingers through her hair for a little bit, but he was finding hard to concentrate on anything.

She made a trail of kisses going down his chest and kept going farther and father down. Inuyasha let out a moan when her mouth finally reached that spot that his body had been yearning for

xxxxxxxxxx

Shippo walked out of Kaede's house early in the morning. He saw Kagome digging around in her backpack for something. "Kagome." He called out to her.

She looked up at him and brought her finger up to her lips. "Inuyasha is still sleeping." She said in a loud whisper. She motioned for him to follow her so that they would be out of Inuyasha's earshot.

After they had walked for a few minutes Shippo decided it was safe to talk. "When I woke up this morning, I thought yesterday had been a dream. I was worried that you hadn't really come back."

Kagome bent down and hugged him. "I'm sorry Shippo. I won't leave again. I promise."

Shippo noticed that Kagome smelled like Inuyasha again, but this time he didn't care. It meant that she didn't hate him anymore.

"Kagome,"

"What?"

"You look different."

"Different?"

"Yeah."

"How?"

"Your eyes are sparkling."

"They are?" Kagome smiled and remembered that Inuyasha had said the same thing to her last night. "I wonder why?"

"Maybe you're in a good mood or something."

"Maybe"

They walked to the river where Kagome sat down and did her morning activities, (brushing her teeth, washing her face, etc.). Shippo watched and waited for her to finish up. "Are you ready to go back?" he asked when she finished.

"Yeah." Kagome stood up, but had to sit back down when a lightheaded feeling came over her.

"Are you ok?" Shippo asked.

Kagome closed her eyes. She would have told Shippo Yeah I'm fine, just give me a minute.', but she didn't want to open her mouth.

"I'll get Inuyasha." He said and ran off before Kagome could stop him. Once he was gone she decided to lay down and wait for the feeling to pass, like it always did. The warm morning sun made her feel a little better. It took a few minutes, but Inuyasha did come to see if she was all right.

"Kagome, what's wrong?" He sat down next to her and ran his fingers through her bangs. Shippo was sitting on his shoulder.

"Nothing. I'll be fine in a few minutes."

"Sure?"

"Yeah. My stomach hurts a little, that's all." 

"Still..." Inuyasha reached down and started to rub it.

"What are you doing?" Kagome asked.

"When I was a kid, my mom would always do this when I felt sick."

Kagome smiled. Inuyasha usually didn't talk about his mom very much, he had so many painful childhood memories. She was kinnda glad he had at least one good one. "Thanks." She mumbled, "It dose feel better."

"Why did it hurt? Did you eat something strange?"

"No I have a stomach flue I think."

"What do you mean by, you think'?"

Kagome looked away from Inuyasha, _what do I mean?_ she asked herself. "Inuyasha, I think I might go to my time for a little while."

"Why?" he didn't want her to go so soon after returning from the wolf's den.

"There's something I need to find out."

"Ok." He said sadly "Do you want me to go with you?"

"No." she said quickly. "I mean," she tried to recover, "I'll only be gone for a few hours."

"Fine," he sighed. "Hop on. I'll take you to the well."

Shippo and Inuyasha watched as Kagome disappeared down the well. "Why do you think she didn't want you to go with her?" Shippo asked.

Inuyasha smacked him on the back of the head then walked off. "Awww, Inuyasha I thought you have somehow become above and beyond the need for physical violence."

"What?"

"You hadn't hit me in a while. I thought maybe Kagome had finally thought you some manners."

Inuyasha made a fist, "Do you want me to make up for lost time?"

"No." Shippo said quickly. Inuyasha laughed and headed back for Kaede's house.

xxxxxxxxxx

Kagome sat in walked into her bedroom holding a small brown paper bag. When she arrived home she found that everyone was gone. Normally she would have been upset, but this time she was a little relived.

She took the first cab she could get a hold of and went to an out of town shop where she could do her shopping without any of her friends sneaking up on her.

Now that she was back in her room she was really nervous. She opened the paper bag and pulled out what she had bought, a pregnancy test. "Well," she whispered to herself, "Let's see if this is simply one hell of a stomach flue or something more."

****

xxxxxxxxxx

Well, that was chapter 23 for you, I hope you liked it.

I would really like to get a high number of reviews how about 20. I want 20 reviews, but I'll settle for 10.

Lots of Love Daydreamer62386


	24. Visions Of A Whale

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

****

Notes to my reviewers:

Kwii Kwii : I'm really glad you liked that chapter. Thanks for the bouquet of Chrysanthemums, the box of cyber chocolate chip cookies, and the power. I love my gifts. (crying like the girls in beauty contest) You like me, you really like me.

Shadow : Thanks for your review. I didn't forget about the jewel shards in Kikyou's room, they just come in later in the story. And don't worry, I'm not planning on ending the story any time soon.

KiLaLa, Kagome's Daughter : Red with blond highlights... OMG I think that will look so good.

****

Chapter Twenty-four: Visions of a Whale

Kagome held a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in one hand while starring blankly at the TV screen. She wasn't really hungry and didn't really feel like watching TV. She was only sitting there so she could be distracted. Hopefully the 15 minutes, for the pregnancy test, would go by quicker if she was watching TV.

She decided to watch the news, but she still zoned in and out of it. After finally deciding that the news wouldn't keep her entertained, she turned it off and walked up to her room. She reached for the book sitting on the little table and was about to read it when a small piece of paper caught her attention.

It was a drawing of Inuyasha that she had done a long time ago. It was one of her first sketches of him. She laughed at how sloppy it was. His face was rounder then it was supposed to be and there weren't as many details as she usually put.

The basic things were still there. He still had the long hair, the ears, the red outfit, and the beads Kagome ran her finger along the little drawing of the beads. _Maybe it's about time I took those off of him_ she thought to herself. It had occurred to her that she was using the sit' command less and less these days.

"Yeah, he has changed a lot." She said to herself while remembering how he acting when they first met. He had always been rude, selfish, and secretive. "I guess if you want to change someone, you use pain." She laughed to herself.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard her mom walking in the house. "Mom!" she called out, walking downstairs to the kitchen. Her mom was there, unpacking a grocery bag.

"Oh, hi Kagome, I didn't know you were home. Is Inuyasha with you?"

"No."

"Oh well, he can come around next time. Is there anything you want for dinner?"

"I won't be staying that long."

"You won't?"

"No, I promised Inuyasha I would only be gone for a few hours."

"Well, your brother and grandfather will be home in a few minutes. Don't go anywhere until you've said goodbye to them."

"I won't." Kagome stood there in the kitchen watching her mom for a little while before gathering up the courage to open her mouth again. "M-Mom, I have something to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Maybe you should sit down."

Kagome's mom gave her a confused look, but put the last can of beans away and sat down at the kitchen table. "What is it?" she asked in a softer tone this time.

Kagome sat down across form her mom and folded her hands in front of her. "Promise you won't freak out."

"Promise."

"There is a possibility I could be pregnant."

Whatever Kagome's mom was expecting, that wasn't it. All color disappeared from her face. ""

"Yeah."

There was a very uncomfortable silence in the room as Kagome's mom pondered over this new information in her head. "So, hypothetically speaking, if you arepregnant," she seemed to have trouble saying that word, "what do you think Inuyasha will say?"

"I haven't thought about that yet."

"Have you taken a pregnancy test yet?"

"I'm waiting for the test results. It'll be ready in a few minutes."

Kagome's mom took in a deep breath, "Ok. We'll deal with this when we find out for sure."

"Alright." Kagome looked down at her watch; she only had three minutes left.

"Hey Mom!" Souta came running into the room, oblivious to the tension in the air, "Guess how many goals I scored in the park." Kagome's grandfather; who seemed really tired form babysitting' Souta all day, followed him.

"How many?" her mom asked.

"17."

"That's great, I'll cook you something special tonight."

Kagome decided to spend the last three minutes in her room. She sat down on her bed and reached for her book, but stopped when Souta walked in. "What do you want?" she asked.

"Kagome, is something wrong with mom?"

"What do you mean?"

"She seems worried."

"I know." Kagome got off her bed and started to walk to the bathroom.

Souta followed her, "Why?"

"She's worried that I'm pregnant." She tried but failed to hide the stress in her voice.

Souta's eyes grew wide. "Kagome, are you!"

"Let's find out." She said, reaching for the pregnancy test.

xxxxxxxxxx

Inuyasha sat in a tree near the well. A long time had passed and Kagome still wasn't back yet. He wasn't really worried, he just didn't like not being with her. "Is Kagome back yet?" Sango called form below him.

"No." he jumped down. "She said she would only be gone for a few hours."

"Well, it has only been about two, I think."

"Whatever." Inuyasha sighed and began walking with Sango back to Kaede's house. "Hey Sango, could I ask you something?" he said after a little while.

"Sure."

"Why don't you and Miroku ever do anything romantic?"

"What." Sango wasn't excepting him to ask something like that.

"You two are getting married soon, right. Shouldn't you be acting all googooy."

Sango thought about it, "No, Miroku and I really aren't the type to act like that."

"Sure, but still. At least Kagome and I go of and spend time together, just the two of us."

"So."

"Well, maybe you and Miroku should set aside some time every once and a while, so you can just be with each other. You know, to talk or simply enjoy each others company."

Sango was impressed. Inuyasha had never seemed like the type that would give her advice, especially when it came to love. "Inuyasha"

"What?"

"You really surprise me sometimes."

"I do."

"A while ago Kagome and I were talking. I was mad at you for acting like a jerk and I asked her what she could possibly see in you."

"You asked her that?"

"Yeah. She told me that you were really sweet on the inside, but I never believed her."

"Never?"

"Well, now I do," she corrected herself. "I'm just amazed that it took me so long to see your nice side, when it took Kagome such a short time."

Inuyasha shrugged a little bit, "I think Kagome discovered my nice side even before I did."

Sango patted Inuyasha on the shoulder then walked the rest of the way in silence. They both came to Kaede's house to find Shippo and Miroku sitting in the grass looking up at the clouds. "Is Kagome back?" Shippo asked hopefully when he saw the two of them.

"No." Inuyasha grumbled back.

"I hope she's not to sick to come back." Shippo said.

"What do you mean?" Sango and Miroku asked.

"Kagome has had some kind of flue seine yesterday." Inuyasha said.

"The flue, how do you know?"

"She's been sick. That's how I know." He answered with a little annoyance at the stupid question.

"She didn't seem sick when I was around her." Miroku said.

"I know, it was more of a morning thing."

Sango's eyes grew a little wide. "Do you think she's pregnant."

They all looked at Inuyasha, "N-No, she told me she had the stomach flue."

"Well," Miroku scratched his chin a little bit "Is pregnancy a possibility."

A faint blush appeared on Inuyasha's face, but he hid it well. "No. She told me that she was sick."

"Ok." Sango said sarcastically "If you say so."

"What about Kouga?" Miroku asked suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Inuyasha asked.

"If Kagome is pregnant, is it possible that Kouga could be the father?"

Everyone was silent for a few seconds till Inuyasha practically yelled out "No."

"She did spend an entire month with him, under the belief that she was his mate." Sango said, "I guess it is possible."

"No it's not!" Inuyasha yelled again then walked off towards the well.

He walked to the edge of it and sat down to wait for Kagome. He was really angry with Sango and Miroku for even suggesting that Kagome would do something like that with Kouga, even though deep down he knew it could be true.

"Kagome wouldn't just give herself away like that." he told himself.

__

But she did when it came to you. His mind argued back.

"Shut up, that's different."

__

How?

"We've know each other for a lot longer. Plus she actually loves me." he argued back. "Wait. Why am I arguing with myself?"

"Inuyasha. Is that you?" he heard Kagome's voice from down in the well. He looked down and saw her smiling face. "Sorry it took so long."

He helped her out then gave her a tight hug. "I don't like it when you leave." He said.

Kagome giggled at the attention he gave her. "Ok, next time you can come with me."

He nuzzled her neck to show his appreciation, "Everyone is waiting for you." He said once he let her go.

"Really." She responded, wondering when she had suddenly become the center of everyone's attention. "Don't you guys have lives outside of me."

"No. You are my life."

He started to walk back to Kaede's house but Kagome grabbed his arm. "Wait, we need to talk."

xxxxxxxxxx

Sango stretched out next to Shippo in the grass and started pointing out shapes in the clouds. "That one looks like a bird." She told Shippo, who laughed in agreement.

"I hope Kagome gets back soon." Shippo said after a little while.

"I'm sure she will." Sango replied.

"Hey." Miroku said suddenly, "Should we be feeling guilty about wanting Kagome to come back so soon."

"Why?" Sango and Shippo both sat up and stared at Miroku, "Don't you want her to come back."

"Of course, it just Kagome dose have a family, aren't we kinda taking her away from them."

Shippo tilted his head to the side, "Kagome's mommy probably misses her all the time. Now I do feel bad."

"Don't worry," Sango rubbed Shippo's back a little bit to comfort him. "I know Kagome, she wouldn't come back if she didn't want too."

Shippo only half believed her, but decided not to worry about it anymore. His stomach rumbled a little bit and Sango laughed, "Are you hungry?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Come on, I'm sure I can make you something." She picked Shippo up and walked into Kaede's house, leaving Miroku alone to wait for Kagome and Inuyasha to return.

****

xxxxxxxxxx

Sorry about how short this chapter is, but a short chapter is better then no chapter at all right. Tee hee.

Umm My lucky number is 7 so how about 7 reviews. Thanks.

Lots of love Daydreamer62386


	25. Beads And Dog Whistles

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha

****

Notes to my reviewers: I'm sorry I made you guys wait so long to find out if Kagome is pregnant or not, that was really cruel of me.

Inufreak831 : -- gasp -- I've never gotten a gold star before. Even when I wrote short stories, essays, and reports for school. My first gold star...

Eekolie : Sorry about that... I called the chapter _Visions of a whale_ because, when my mom was pregnant with me, she thought she was as big as a whale.

Captured Moon : I have seen Rurouni Kenshin and I do love his red hair (enough to dye my hair red). Have you ever noticed that I write a little note to you in almost every chapter : )

****

Chapter Twenty Five: Beads and Dog Whistles

"Inuyasha, we need to talk." She said, "The others can wait."

"Alright." Inuyasha didn't like the way Kagome suddenly grew serious. He let her lead him to a quiet part of the woods.

Kagome waited till she found just the right spot then sat down on the ground. Inuyasha sat down in front of her, "What do we need to talk about?" He tried not to sound worried while the words Sango said earlier ran through his head.

Kagome took a deep breath and thought about how to put her words together. "Remember my flue."

"Yeah."

"WellI went to my time to see if it was something more."

"What do you mean?"

Kagome took a deep breath, "Like a baby."

"Baby! Kagome are you pregnant?"

"Inuyasha," she reached out and grabbed his hand, "I went to my time so I could a home pregnancy test."

"What's a home pregnancy test?"

Kagome sometimes got annoyed at having to explain modern things to him. "It's a test a girl can take in the comfort of her own home, to find out if she's pregnant."

"Are you?" Inuyasha asked, suddenly realizing that she had never answered the question in the first place.

"The test wasn't clear, so my mom took me to the doctor to have a blood test."

"Soyou don't know yet."

Kagome shook her head. "I don't. I'm supposed to go to the doctor's office tomorrow morning. Do you want to come with me?"

"Yes." Inuyasha said without hesitation.

Kagome smiled, she was really relived knowing that Inuyasha would be at her side when she found out. She moved forward and wrapped her arms around Inuyasha, "Thank you."

Inuyasha was a little confused. "Did you think I wouldn't go?" he wondered why Kagome thanked him.

"I was just worried that I'd be alone when I found out."

"Oh. You won't be. Come on, the others are waiting."

Inuyasha stood up and started to walk in the direction of Kaede's house. "Are your legs broken or something?" he asked when he looked back and saw that Kagome hadn't moved from her spot on the ground.

"No." she smiled and started to follow him.

When Kagome finally caught up with him he took her hand in his own and started walking again. "Kagome, why do you always wear your school uniform?"

Kagome looked up at Inuyasha, "Why? You don't like it."

"No. I do. But it must get messed up all the time, don't you need it for school."

"Yeah, but it's easy to move in. Easy to fight in."

Inuyasha smirked. They both walked the rest of the way in a comfortable silence until the reached Kaede's house. Miroku stood up to greet them, "Kagome, welcome back."

"I was only gone for a few hours."

"We know," Inuyasha said "but we've learned to appreciate your presence more."

Kagome smiled and walked into Kaede's house. She almost fell backward when Shippo jumped up into her arms. "Kagome!" he yelled out. "Are you going to have a baby?"

"What!" Kagome almost dropped him. Miroku and Sango were surprised and relived at the same time. They wanted to ask her the same thing, but didn't want to be rude.

"Are you going to have a baby?" he asked again.

"I don't know yet." She laughed a little bit. "News certainly spreads quickly around here doesn't it."

"It was Sango's idea." Miroku said.

Sango blushed and slapped Miroku on the back of the head. "I only had a suspicion. So, when do you find out for sure."

"Tomorrow morning." Kagome said, "Inuyasha and I are going to my time to find out."

"Alright."

Kaede walked into the house and was a little surprised to see that it was full of people. "Kagome, you're back so soon."

"Yeah."

****

"Fuck!" Inuyasha screamed out when he tripped in the dark and landed on his arm in a bad way.

"Inuyasha, what's wrong?" Kagome asked. Everyone was getting ready for bed. Sango and Kagome had already bathed and now she was in her pajamas.

"Nothing." He sat up a little bit and rubbed his arm.

Kagome giggled at the way he acted. She rubbed his ear lightly as she walked past him, towards the tree. She almost yelped when she felt Inuyasha's arms wrap around her. He leaned down a little bit and whispered in her ear, "We're not sleeping in the tree tonight."

"Why?"

"You might fall and hurt the baby."

"But I might not even be pregnant."

"Better safe then sorry." Inuyasha replied. He lifted her up and carried her to the bed that Shippo had made for them.

Kagome snuggled into his warmth and drifted off to sleep. Inuyasha, however, stayed awake for a few minutes longer. He had one arm wrapped around Kagome and his other hand was pressing lightly against her stomach.

He wondered whether Kagome really was pregnant or not. _I wondered if I'd make a good dad_ he thought. He could barely remember his dad and never really had that father figure in his life.

A cold wind blew and Kagome's grip on Inuyasha grew a little tighter. He smiled and decided to think about the fatherhood thing in the morning. Taking in a little bit of Kagome scent, he drifted off to sleep as well.

****

When Sango walked outside of Kaede's house she was a little disappointed to see that Inuyasha and Kagome were already gone. "Darn." She was really hoping that she could see Kagome off, wish her good luck, or something like that.

"Is something wrong?" She didn't notice Miroku sitting against the house.

"No. I just wanted to see Kagome before she went to her time."

"Sorry, if I had known you wanted to see her, I would have woken you up."

Sango sat down next to him. "I was thinking"

"About what?"

"You and I should spend the day together."

Miroku wrapped his arm around her waist. "But we spend every day together."

"I mean, just the two of us."

"Really"

Sango smiled when he got that lecherous look in his eyes "Not like that Miroku. Inuyasha told me something that was so true. We don't spend any time alone anymore."

"Alright." He stood up "Lets start with a walk through the town."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Miroku helped Sango to her feet. She linked her arm in his and walked with him through the small town.

****

Inuyasha thought Kagome was acting extremely calm considering they were on their way to the doctor's office. After spending and uncomfortable breakfast with her family the two of them piled into the van with Kagome's mom.

Kagome's mom was driving, Kagome was sitting in the passenger seat, and Inuyasha was sitting in the middle row with his red hat on his head to cover his ears.

"So," Kagome's mom broke the silence that filled the air, "do you think you'd make a good father Inuyasha?"

"Mom, it's not a sure thing yet." Kagome mumbled. Her voice showed Inuyasha that she wasn't as confident as he originally thought.

"I was just wondering"

Inuyasha thought about it for a few moments before answering her. "I don't know if I'd make a good father or not, but I know that I would do my best."

Kagome's mom shook her head. "Do you have any kind of parenting experience? Have you ever had to baby-sit or anything like that?"

"Did you have parenting experience before Kagome was born?" Inuyasha answered her question with a question.

Kagome's mom looked over at Kagome, "You know, I remember when your father was driving me to the hospital when I had morning sickness."

Kagome smiled, "Really." She loved hearing stories about her father.

"Yeah. At first I thought you were just gas."

Inuyasha laughed when she said that. It only took them a few minutes longer to reach the hospital parking lot. Kagome's mom walked ahead of them so she could check to see if they made their appointment.

"Are you nervous?" Inuyasha asked Kagome.

"I don't know. I'm just in anticipation. I can't wait to find out."

Inuyasha looked down at Kagome; "Do you want a baby?"

Kagome took Inuyasha's hand before answering. "Ever since I was little I wanted to have a family."

"But Do you want to have a baby now?"

Kagome leaned a little bit against Inuyasha as she walked, "I don't know yes."

When they both reached the hospital doors Kagome's mom and a nurse were waiting for them. "The doctor will give you the results from your test. Just wait in the room at the end of the hall."

"I'll wait in the lobby." Kagome's mom said as Inuyasha and Kagome walked past her. She wanted to be in there with her daughter, but she thought that Kagome would want to be alone with Inuyasha when they found out.

Kagome gave her a grateful smile and lead Inuyasha down the hallway. The room they were supposed to wait in didn't look like an average hospital room. It seemed a lot more comfortable.

There was an overstuffed couch for the two of them to sit on at one end of the room. At the other end was one of those beds you sit on when the doctor is doing a check up. The walls were covered with pictures of the human bones and muscles. The room wasn't painted white, but a light brown.

"Hello Kagome." The doctor said as he walked into the room. Kagome stood up and shook his hand.

"Hello."

"This must be Inuyasha, right?" The doctor said. Inuyasha nodded, but didn't bother standing up and shaking his hand. "I'm sorry sir," the doctor continued, "but I'll have to ask you to take off your hat."

Inuyasha hesitated, but he eventually did take the hat off. The doctor looked at Inuyasha ears then mumbled something about kids and their fads' while he searched through some papers.

He stopped when he reached a small yellow envelope and pulled it out of his pile. "These are the results. I'm going to leave you two alone to look at them, while I talk to your mother about the medical bill."

"Thanks." Kagome said as he walked out of the room.

"So." Inuyasha stood up and waited for her to tell him.

Kagome ripped the envelope open and pulled out the cream colored paper inside. Inuyasha tapped his foot impatiently as Kagome read carefully down the paper, until a slight smile came over her face.

"Apparently there will be a mini Inuyasha running around."

"What?" his ears perked up.

Kagome looked up at him; "I'm pregnant." **[sorry jammies2000, I hope this doesn't mean you'll stop reading my story.]**

Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her and brought her into a tight hug. He was happier then he thought he would be. "Do you think it will be a boy or a girl?"

"Which one do you want?"

Inuyasha tilted his head back a little bit, "I think I'd want a girl, one that is as pretty as you."

"What if I have a boy?"

"I'll be just as happy." He gave her a quick kiss before pulling her out the door, "Come on, we should tell your mom."

"Wait." Kagome stopped him just before they left the room.

"What?"

She reached around Inuyasha's neck with her hands and brought him into a kiss. This one was longer and more passionate then before. When they broke apart Inuyasha somehow felt different. He looked down at Kagome's hand and saw that she was holding the magical beads in her hand.

"You took them off!" he yelled excitedly, catching the attention of some people in the hallway.

"Yeah."

"Say sit."

"Sit."

Inuyasha waited a few seconds for his face to hit the ground, but it didn't. He jumped around happily and walked with more of a spring in his step. Kagome was reminded of a little kid on his birthday.

She debated with herself about reminding him that she still had the silver dog whistle, which was currently around her neck. _No._ she decided _why ruin his good mood._

****

It was almost noon when Sango and Miroku decided to wait by the well for Kagome. They weren't shocked at all to see that Shippo was already there, he was really emotionally attached to Kagome, like a second mom.

"Hi Shippo."

"Hi guys. Where have you been?"

"Just walking around."

Sango looked down the well, "I wonder when she'll get back."

Miroku joined her in looking down the well, "She told me that she'd come back as soon as she found out."

"Do you think she is?" Miroku asked.

"I think so, I just wonder who the father is. Kouga or Inuyasha."

"Hmm" Miroku rubbed his chin. "Which would be better, a mini Inuyasha or a mini Kouga running around."

"I don't know, they both sound horrible." Shippo said. Sango laughed at what he said, but stopped when she heard Kagome's voice.

"Hi Sango." Kagome yelled out when she saw her at the top of the well. "I've got some news for all of you."

Inuyasha grabbed her around the waist and jumped out of the well. "Kagome, are you going to have a baby?" Shippo asked instantly.

Kagome nodded and everyone gave a slight cheer. "We have to cook you something really special for dinner tonight." Miroku said.

They all started to walk back to Kaede's house. Shippo instantly jumped into Kagome's arms. He loved being small enough to be carried. Suddenly a thought came over him. If Kagome had a baby, he would have to share her.

"K-Kagome."

"What?"

"Are you going to love me less when the baby is born?"

Kagome felt badly for Shippo, is might be hard for him to adjust to a baby. "No." she hugged him tightly "I could never love you any less."

Inuyasha followed Kagome close behind. He tried to think of what things would be like once the baby was born. They wouldn't be able to travel around as much. After a few minutes of thinking about being a parent he remembered what Sango had said earlier.

"Kagome, could I talk to you alone for a second."

"Sure." She set Shippo on the ground and followed Inuyasha to a quiet place in the woods, "What do you want to talk about?"

"You're probably going to think this is stupid, but Sango said something earlier and I was just wondering if it was true."

"If what was true?"

"Isis it possible that Kouga could be the father."

Kagome was a little shocked at the question.

"Is he?" Inuyasha asked again when she hesitated.

Kagome bit her bottom lip and looked down at her feet.

****

Apparently I do have a bit of evilness still in me : ) You guys will have to wait until chapter 26 to find out if Kouga could be the father.

look on the bright sideevery time I leave a cliffhanger it means I'll write another chapter soon.

I feel like I'm pressuring you guys to send me reviews oh well, I'll need 5

Lots of love Daydreamer62386


	26. Another Way To Make Kagome Mad

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

****

Notes to my reviewers:

Captured Moon : My dad plays music from the 70's all the time, so I do happen to know who SuperTramp is (I love them). That aside, I've got some bad news for you... (pause for dramatic silence)... I found something that we don't have in common, ::gasp::

Inufreak831 : I guess the baby would be 1/4, but I'm going to pretend that I don't know that and make the baby 1/2. Nobody has ever called me 'DD62386' before... It sounds cool. Like when clebs shorten their names. Like JLo or GW.

Eekolie : I think I am a little insane.

Sackimitama4me : No, I'm not really a Kouga fan. I don't hate him... but I'm not a big fan of him.

Vtguh23 : I'm really really sorry, but I can't tell if her baby is a boy or girl. I want you and everyone else to be surprised.

SftbalLazerGurl : I'm still trying to think of a way to work Shessomuru into the story, but I'll find someway. I did debate having Inuyasha smell Kagome's child, but then I wouldn't have been able to make all those wonderful cliffhangers. Shippo could smell it when Kagome and Inuyasha mated because it was the day after, but Kagome had been gone for a month. I think that answered all your questions. Thanks for asking them.

****

Chapter Twenty Six: Another way to make Kagome mad

"Where did they go?" Miroku asked when he noticed that Inuyasha and Kagome weren't following them anymore.

"I don't know." Sango replied.

Shippo crossed his arms, "Inuyasha wanted to talk to Kagome, alone." He said.

"How do you know?"

Shippo made a slight frown when he answered. "I actually use my ears and listen to what's going on around me." He walked off leaving Miroku and Sango alone.

"What's wrong with him." Sango watched Shippo until he was out of their sight.

"He's probably worried that Kagome will stop loving him as soon as the baby is born."

"Poor thing."

Miroku grabbed Sango's hand and started to pull her in a certain direction. "Come on, I want to show you something."

"What?"

"Wait and see."

Sango let Miroku pull her in a direction completely opposite of which they had been originally walking. After a while she completely lost any sort of direction, she had no idea where they were going. "Miroku, are we lost?"

"No. I know where we're going."

"Ok." She had a little bit a doubt, but decided to trust him.

It took them almost half an hour the reach the destination Miroku was going for. He led Sango to the top of a hill that was only a small distance away from the village. "It's a really nice view up here." He said.

Sango looked out over the landscape. Miroku was right, it was very beautiful. She could see the entire village. Everyone was running about doing their business and the children we're playing. She could also make out the near by river, they way the sun glimmered off it, it looked like it had specks of gold and diamonds in it.

"You should see it at night time." Miroku said when Sango was speechless. "The stars and the moon really light up the sky."

"I love this spot." Was the only thing Sango managed to say.

"I thought you would." He leaned down and kissed Sango quickly on the cheek.

Sango sat down one the ground and just watched what was going on around her. When Miroku took the spot next to her, she rested her head on his shoulder. "Miroku, where do you find these spots."

"I just come across them, I guess. I think I have a gift for finding beautiful things." He said as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

Sango looked up at Miroku, "What are the odds, that out of all the men in the world, I got the best one."

"You didn't get the best one," Miroku laughed, "but you did get the luckiest one." He lifted her head up a little bit and kissed her again, this time on the lips. "I love you." He whispered when they parted.

"I love you too."

Sango looked away from Miroku, when something caught her eye. She could barely make out Inuyasha and Kagome standing in the woods. They seemed to be talking about something important. She frowned a little bit when she noticed that Kagome seemed really mad.

"Sango, could I ask you something." He didn't notice the two of them off in the distance, so he continued to stare at Sango.

"Sure."

"How do you think we're going to find your little brother?"

Sango indeed hadn't thought about that. "I-I don't know."

"Maybe we could get Kagome to draw a picture of him."

"What good would that do?"

"Well, if we go from village to village and show it to people, maybe someone will recognize him."

"Do you think it will work?"

"Yeah, Kagome said people in her era do it all the time, with something called a photo."

Sango's face brightened, "I hope the others won't mind traveling around for my sake."

"I'm sure they won't. Wasn't it Kagome who suggested we find him in the first place."

"That's true." Suddenly Sango's eyes opened wide when a thought hit her. "Should we travel around with her."

"We can't leave her," Miroku said "we still have to find more jewel shards, remember."

"Yeah, but it might not be safe for her and her baby."

Miroku rubbed his chin, "I guess it's up to her."

Sango looked out at Kagome and Inuyasha again. This time Kagome slapped Inuyasha before storming off. "Something's wrong." She said.

Sango got up, followed by Miroku, and started to walk to Kaede's house in a quick pace.

****

"Is there a possibility that Kouga could be the father?" Inuyasha asked.

Kagome bit down on her lower lip and looked at her feet.

"Is he?" he asked again when she hesitated.

"Who put these ideas in your head?"

"Miroku and Sango brought it up."

Kagome took in a deep breath and looked up at him, "Would you love me less if he was?"

"N-No."

"Would you love the baby less if he was?"

"I guess not."

"Then why would it matter."

Inuyasha let out a frustrated sigh, "Kagome, I just want to know."

"You're the father Inuyasha." Her anger was growing more and more as Inuyasha accused her.

"Are you sure?"

Kagome put her hands on her hips, "What kind of question is that!" she yelled.

"You did spend an entire month with Kouga!" he yelled back.

Kagome's hands turned into fist. "Just what are you accusing me of?" her voice was really tense, it was easy to tell that she was trying not to scream.

"I know what you and Kouga did when you thought he was your mate."

Kagome crossed her arms and stared coldly into Inuyasha's eyes. "Inuyasha, if you trust me at all, you'll believe me when I say you're the father."

Inuyasha hesitated for a few seconds, "Are you absolutely sure?"

"Inuyasha!" She slapped him across the face as hard as she possibly could, "You're such a jerk!" She walked off leaving Inuyasha all alone.

Inuyasha brought his hand up to his face and rubbed the area that Kagome had slapped. He regretted making Kagome mad, but he still needed to get a straight answer. Not wanting to argue with Kagome again, he jumped off in the direction Kouga's cave was in.

Kagome kept on walking until she reached Kaede's house. She stormed in only to find Kaede and Shippo sitting there. "Where's Sango and Miroku?" she asked quickly.

The two of them could tell that she was extremely angry. "They went for a walk. Is something wrong?"

Kagome gripped the beads in her hand so tightly that the string snapped and the beads rolled all over the floor, but she didn't answer.

Sango and Miroku walked in a few minutes later. They looked at all the beads on the ground then looked up at Kagome, "What's wro-" Sango started to ask, but she was cut off.

"Miroku, Sango, I can't believe you guys!" Kagome shouted.

"W-What do you mean." They both became a little nervous; they weren't used to being on the other end of Kagome's anger (that was usually Inuyasha.)

"You both know how jealous Inuyasha gets! Why are you putting strange ideas in his head!"

"We didn't put-"

"You told him that Kouga might be the father!" Kagome screamed. She placed her hand on her forehead and tried to hold back her tears, she hated yelling at people like this. "I'm going home." She mumbled before running out the door.

Kaede's house was filled with silence after Kagome ran out. They were at a loss of ideas on how to fix this problem on their hands.

****

Kouga stood up and walked to the entrance of his den and sniffed the air. "Is something wrong?"

"I thought I smelt someone coming?"

"Is it Kagome?"

He glanced at the two wolf demons before looking back outside. "No, it almost smells like"

And almost on cue, Inuyasha jumped down from one of the near by trees. "What the hell are you doing here?" Kouga yelled out.

"Don't flatter yourself, I'm not here to fight. I have something to tell you."

Kouga looked at him skeptically, but allowed him to enter the den. "What do you want, mutt boy."

Inuyasha gritted his teeth and took the insult gracefully, "I came to tell you that Kagome is pregnant. I'm assuming that there is a chance you could be the father, so I thought you should know."

"Impossible." Kouga mumbled.

"What?"

"It is impossible, I can't be the father."

"You're not"

"No, Kagome and I never did that."

"You didn't."

"No, don't get me wrong though, I wanted to," Inuyasha growled a little bit when he said that, "but Kagome said she didn't feel right about it." Kouga held out his hand. "Congratulations."

Inuyasha hesitated, but he shook it. "Thanks." He mumbled.

"So, is Kagome with you now?"

"No, she's...damn it!" he said suddenly remembering how mad he made Kagome. He walked out of Kouga's den knowing that he would have to find some way to say sorry.

On his way back to Kaede's house, he was overcome with a terrible feeling of guilt. _I probably made Kagome feel like crap_ he thought to himself. He started to run towards Kaede's village, so he could get to her as fast as he could. But by the time he reached Kaede's house, Kagome was already gone.

****

Kagome climbed out of the well and heard a voice she recognized. It was Hojo. She left the little house that the well was in and saw him standing next to her mom. "Hi Kagome." He called out when he saw her.

"Hi Hojo. What are you doing here?"

"You've missed a lot of school, so I came by to see if you were alright."

"How nice." She said, but she was still in a bad mood over the whole father' thing, so she walked into the house without another word.

"Did I say something wrong?" Hojo asked when Kagome walked away.

"No." Kagome's mom said. "She just upset that I pulled her out of school. I'll see you later Hojo."

"Buy Miss. Higurashi."

"Buy Hojo."

Kagome's mom walked into the house and saw Kagome looking through the pantry for something to eat. "Is something wrong?"

Kagome sighed. "No." She didn't feel like going into a long story.

"Alright. I pulled you out of school an hour ago. I think it will be easier on you if we try homeschool for a while."

"Whatever." Kagome grabbed a box of crackers then headed off for the living room. Souta was sitting on the couth watching TV, so she joined him.

"Hi Kagome." Souta said, not turning away from the screen.

"Hi."

They watch a movie together till Kagome's head started to hurt. "I'm going to bed." She mumbled when she noticed how late it was. Souta just nodded as Kagome walked up to her room.

When she opened her door she was really surprised to see Inuyasha sitting by her window. He turned and looked at her. He was in his human form, so his hair was black and his eyes were brown.

"Hey Kagome." His voice sounded tired.

"How long have you been waiting here?"

"Not long." He lied.

Kagome sat down on her bed and waited for Inuyasha to take a seat next to her. "Inuyasha, I'm still mad at you, so don't think-"

"Kagome, I'm sorry." Inuyasha cut her off and sat down. He wrapped one arm around her and pulled her closer to him. "I should have listened to you."

"Yeah." She rested her head on his shoulder. "You can be a real jerk sometimes."

"I guess... with the spell that Kikyou put on you and when Sango and Miroku started saying all that stuff, I got carried away."

Kagome closed her eyes and relaxed in Inuyasha's grip.

"Do you want to got through the well, the others might be waiting."

"I'd rather spend the night in my time."

"Why?"

"The others are gonna be so mad at me." Kagome said without opening her eyes.

"Really?"

"I yelled at them."

"Oh yeah, Shippo told me you were pretty scary."

Kagome laughed, "I should say sorry to them."

"Don't worry, they'll get over it."

She moved away from Inuyasha and stretched out on her bed. "I'm going to sleep."

"Should I stay in the guest room?"

Kagome patted the spot on the bed beside "No, I'm sure my mom doesn't care anymore."

Inuyasha snuggled into the spot beside Kagome. He loved sleeping in this time, Kagome's bed was really comfortable. For a few minutes he just watched Kagome sleep. After brushing some strands of hair out of her face he gave her a quick kiss then went to sleep himself.

****

I didn't leave this one at a cliffhanger, :::gasp::: I can't wait to write chapter 27. Last night I dreamed what Kagome's baby would look like, what color the hair would be, what color the eyes would be, and whether it would be a boy or a girl. Can't wait till you all find out.

Aren't you glad I didn't make Kouga the father

I would like to have 9 reviews.

Lots of loveDaydreamer62386


	27. A Gift From Kouga

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

****

Notes to my reviewers: How many of you guys let out a sigh of relief during the last chapter when I announced that Kouga wasn't the dad...

Eveilpristess345: I think the child will be just as stubborn as Inuyasha.

Inufreak831 : Holy crap! You're too smart for your own good.

Lizzy Puerto Rico: Just for you, I will try to make the baby unique in some way.

Captured Moon: I'll tell you what we don't have in common, if you think you can handle this information...I love coke, but I drink more pepsi. Tell you sister I siad 'hi' and 'thanks for shooting with the tranquillizer'... (lol) jk.

Inuyasha's Favorit Fan: Funny... I don't remember saying that... ; )

Eekolie: I always planned on making Inuyasha the father, so I don't really know what would have happened if Kouga was the dad. But I guess she would keep it. Inuyasha's court date would have been on a Tuesday (lol)

Spike of Doom: What if I gave the baby two heads and a dragons tail, would that surprise you?

neptunegoddess062: I was considering the idea of Sango having a baby, but I'm not sure if it will happen or not.

****

Chapter Twenty Seven: A Gift From Kouga

"Mom, I'm gonna be late for school." Souta complained. Kagome's mom had woken up later then she thought she would. Now she only had fifteen minutes to drive Souta to work, get her father to the hospital (for a checkup), and get herself to work.

"I'll be down in a second Souta." She made sure everything she needed was in her purse, then walked down the hallway.

Kagome's door was opened a little bit of the way, so she stuck her head in. It made her smile when she saw Inuyasha and Kagome sleeping, fully clothed, in each other's arms.

"Mom" Souta called out again.

Kagome's mom closed the door as quietly as she could, so that they could sleep. "Ok, lets go." She said to Souta and Grandpa as she walked out to her car.

Kagome lifted her head off the pillow when she heard the sound of the family car driving away. She looked down at the sleeping Inuyasha beside her. His hair was white again. She ran her fingers through it and admired how soft it felt for a few minutes before getting out of bed.

She made herself a small breakfast of Ramen. Normally she wouldn't eat it for breakfast, but today she had a craving for it. "Ironic." She mumbled to herself.

She finished up two bowls of ramen before taking a shower, brushing her teeth, etc. She walked back into her room with some fresh cloths on to find Inuyasha still sleeping. _What's the best way to wake him up_ she thought to herself.

Kagome crawled back into the spot she originally was and reached up to rub his ears. Inuyasha smiled and woke up. "Morning." She said cheerfully when his eyes were opened.

"Good morning Kagome." He reached over and rubbed her ear too, but she giggled.

Inuyasha's eyes suddenly moved to the bedroom door, "What's that?"

"What's what?"

Inuyasha sniffed the air a little bit "You cooked ramen!"

"Oh yeah, there's some for you, if you want it."

She barely finished that sentence when Inuyasha jumped out of the bed and ran down to the kitchen. He saw a pot of steaming ramen sitting on the stove. He reached out to grab some, then yelled out when he burnt his finger.

"What's wrong?" Kagome asked when she walked into the room Inuyasha held out his hand. "Let me see." She grabbed his hand and examined his finger. "Looks alright, it will be fine in a little while."

"But it hurts."

Kagome kissed the tip of his finger the poured some ramen for him. "Sit down," she said while setting the bowl on the table.

"Say that again?"

"Say what again."

"Sit."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Sit."

Inuyasha smiled.

"You know," Kagome said when he started to eat, "I still have the dog whistle."

"Damn." Inuyasha mumbled when she said that. Kagome sat down across the table from him and watched him eat. When he looked up and saw Kagome's eyes fixed on him he became a little nervous, "What?"

"N-Nothing." Kagome didn't even realize that she had been staring at him.

Inuyasha shrugged it off and finished off the food Kagome had given him, "Is there anymore."

"Where is everyone?" Inuyasha asked, suddenly realizing that they were the only people there.

"Out, I think. I heard the car driving away this morning."

"Oh."

Kagome shook her head; "You should take a shower before we leave."

"Do I smell bad?"

"No." Kagome laughed. "But my shower is a lot better then the river." She picked up his bowl and started to wash it.

"Alright." He got up and walked over to Kagome. Before she even noticed him, he lifted her up and carried her to the bathroom.

"Inuyasha, what are you doing?"

"Taking a shower. I just figured you could take one with me."

"I already took one."

"When?"

"When you were sleeping."

Inuyasha smirked. "You need to bath for two now."

Kagome started laughing when he said that. "It's eating for two, not bathing for two."

"I don't care."

He set Kagome down on the toilet and turned on the water. He fiddled with the handles for a little while before he was satisfied with the temperature. "Perfect." He said. He turned towards Kagome.

He reached down and pulled her shirt over her head. Kagome had on a pink cotton bra, but she still tried to cover herself with her hands. "Don't." Inuyasha said, pulling them away. He kissed along her neck while trying to unhook her bra. He had a little trouble with it, so he ended up cutting the fabric with his claws. "Perfect." he said again when he looked down at Kagome's bare chest.

"Inuyasha!" she started to protest. He had ruined her favorite bra.

He ignored her tone and pulled her up to her feet. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. His tongue slipped inside of her mouth, moving around with hers.

Kagome tugged on his shirt lightly and he got the hint. He pulled himself away from her and pulled both his red and white shirt off. Kagome ran her finger along his chest for a few minutes, admiring how tan and chiseled it was.

Inuyasha laughed a little bit. Kagome's fingers felt really good. He pulled her skirt down along with her underwear. "There," he said, "you're ready for a shower."

"Thanks." Kagome said, "I probably couldn't have managed that on my own." She giggled to herself. She turned her back to Inuyasha and stepped inside the shower. The water felt good. Inuyasha had done a better job then she thought he would.

Inuyasha stepped inside the shower and pressed Kagome against the shower wall. He nuzzled her neck; the water made her skin softer then he remembered.

Kagome wrapped her arms around him and tilted her head to the side so Inuyasha would have better access. She loved it when he kissed her neck. A small gasp escaped her lips when Inuyasha bit down a little bit.

Inuyasha loved it when he caused Kagome to make those cute sounds. His hands moved down her sides and rested on her hips. He kissed down along her collarbone.

Kagome moved her hands along, exploring Inuyasha's body. He took in a sharp breath. Her cool fingers felt really nice, he thought he was going to lose control of himself. He grabbed her hands and placed them against the wall above her head.

Kagome leaned forward a little bit and met Inuyasha's lips. She gave him a passionate kiss before leaning back against the wall. Inuyasha smiled at her forwardness. He pressed his lips against hers and used one finger to enter her.

She shuddered with pleasure when she felt him. "Inuyasha" her voice was shaky. She kissed and nuzzled his neck in appreciation.

Inuyasha smirked at her reaction and pulled his finger out. He pressed his lips against hers and positioned himself at her entrance. He looked into her eyes and smiled at the spark of lust in them.

He licked her bottom lip once more before pushing himself in her. Kagome let out a loud moan when she felt the sudden bliss that came over her entire body. "Inuyasha." She moaned.

He started a slow pace, he didn't want to lose control and hurt Kagome. Her breathing was heavy and she would let out a moan every time he pulled out and pushed in again. Kagome was able to lift one leg up and wrap it around his waist. Inuyasha reached down and pulled up her other one and cupped her butt in his hands, so that only he and the wall were keeping her up.

"Inuyahsa." Kagome managed to say his name between her gasps.

He smiled and started to speed his pace up. He tried going faster and deeper then before. Kagome held tightly onto Inuyasha's shoulders and leaned into his chest. She was going to miss this feeling for the next nine months.

Inuyasha began to push against her as hard as he possibly could. He felt himself nearing the end when Kagome pulled her head back and let out a loud scream of pleasure. When his body finally released itself he let Kagome's feet set themselves back on the shower floor.

"I love you." Kagome said after she caught her breath.

Inuyasha laughed a little bit before saying, "I think that was the most interesting shower I've ever taken."

****

Miroku walked out of Kaede's house to find Sango sitting next to the door. Her eyes were closed and she was leaning back. "Sango. Are you asleep?"

"No." she opened her eyes. "I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"Kagome. I wonder if she's still mad at us."

"No, I'm sure she's fine now."

They both looked up when they heard someone coming. "Kago-" Sango started to call, but she quickly saw that it wasn't Inuyasha or Kagome at all.

"K-Kouga, what are you doing here?"

"Is Kagome around?" Kouga asked without answering her question.

"She'll be back in a little while. What do you want?" Miroku asked.

"I just need to talk to her."

Sango stood up, "Kagome's already a little upset, she doesn't need you here picking fights with Inuyasha."

Kouga put his hands up in the air. "I'm not here to fight. I need to talk to Kagome, that's all. Why is she mad?"

"Sango and I," Miroku said, "put the idea in Inuyasha's head that you might be the father of her baby."

Kouga rolled his eyes, "I'm not."

"What the hell are you going here!" Inuyasha's voice could be heard a short distance away. The three of them turned and saw Inuyasha standing next to Kagome.

"I need to talk to Kagome." Kouga answered.

"No." was Inuyasha's only response.

"What do you need to talk about?" Kagome asked, ignoring Inuyasha.

Kouga walked up to her and grabbed onto her hand. "Could we talk somewhere private."

"No." Inuyasha said again, "If you've got something to say to Kagome, you can say it in front of everyone."

Kagome jabbed Inuyasha's side with her elbow. "Inuyasha, stop." She switched her attention from Inuyasha to Kouga. "I don't want to go anywhere with you, unless you make a promise to me."

"What?" Kouga asked impatiently. He was suddenly able to smell the faint scent of Inuyasha on her, but he didn't care anymore. He knew there was nothing he could do about it.

"I don't want you to try and convince me to be your mate."

Kouga let out a frustrated sigh. "I wasn't planning on it Kagome, I just need to talk to you."

"Alright."

Kouga looked relived and grabbed Kagome's arm. "Come on, we need to go somewhere quiet."

Inuyasha sighed as he watched Kouga run off with Kagome. "I should follow them." He said out loud, without meaning too.

"Inuyasha. If you follow Kagome she might become angry again." Miroku pointed out. "She would probably accuse you of not trusting her."

Inuyasha groaned, he knew that Miroku was right. He hated the feeling of not being able to do anything. "Don't worry." Sango said when she saw the worried look on Inuyasha's face; "Kagome loves you not Kouga."

"I know. I know." Inuyasha mumbled before walking into Kaede's house.

****

Kouga looked around until he found the perfect spot to talk to Kagome alone. He sniffed the air every now and then to make sure that Inuyasha wasn't following them, then stopped and looked at Kagome.

"What do you want to talk about?" Kagome asked. She didn't want to take too long, she knew that Inuyasha would worry.

"Kagome, I want you to know that I still love you, but-"

"Kouga you promised me"

"I know, that's not why I'm here. Inuyasha told me you are pregnant."

Kagome nodded. "When did he tell you?"

"Earlier. He wanted to know if I was the father, I think."

Kagome sighed. "It's a good thing I'm not mad at him anymore." She said mainly to herself.

"Anyway," Kouga continued. "When ever a female wolf demon is expecting a child, everyone will give her a gift."

Kagome smiled. "Really? We do something like that where I come from. It's called a baby shower."

"Oh."

"Sorry," Kagome suddenly realized that she had interrupted him. "Continue please."

"Well, I still care for you, so I want to give you a gift."

"Kouga you don't have too."

"I want too. I don't really have much to give you, so I wanted to give you some information"

"What do you mean?"

Kouga leaned in so he wouldn't have to talk very loud. "Kikyo has the rest of the jewel hidden in her bedroom. I thought you might like to know that."

Kagome's mouth dropped open, "T-The rest of the jewel, really!"

Kouga nodded.

"Oh Kouga!" Kagome wrapped her arms around him and gave him a tight hug. "Thank you so much."

Kouga hugged her back, but this time when he hugged her; he didn't hug her as a man who wanted to claim this woman as his mate, but as a friend hugging another friend. "I should go." He said, pushing her away, "I don't want your mate getting jealous."

Kagome laughed as she watched Kouga jump from tree to tree. She was so happy, knowing that the jewel was so near, being completed. She practically skipped back to Kaede's house until another problem arose in her mind. _How do we get it?_

She didn't want to have to go back to Kikyo's castle, and she knew that the other probably didn't want to either.

Kagome made her way to Kaede's house. When she walked in, everyone stopped talking. Miroku and Sango seemed a little nervous around her. "I'm sorry I yelled at you guys." Kagome said instantly.

They relaxed a little bit. "It's alright. Sorry we butted in like that."

"So, what did Kouga want?" Inuyasha asked.

"He just wanted to give me a gift."

"What? Why?" Sango asked.

Kagome rolled her eyes; she didn't like always having to go into detail about certain moments of her life. "He wanted to give me a gift because I am having a baby." She said.

"Oh."

"That reminds me," she looked at Inuyasha, "Why'd you go up to Kouga's den."

Inuyasha gulped, "He told you about that."

"Yeah."

"Are you mad?"

She fingered the dog whistle around her neck just to make Inuyasha nervous. "No, I'm not." She said after a few seconds.

Inuyasha let out a sigh of relief.

"What did Kouga give you?" Shippo asked.

"Oh, n-nothing." She wanted to come up with a plan before she told everyone about the jewel.

Sango suddenly remembered what Miroku had told her the other day. "Kagome, could I ask you a favor."

"Sure."

Sango and Miroku explained their idea of going from town to town looking for Kohaku using a picture Kagome would draw, "If it's alright with you?" Sango tossed in timidly.

"No problem." She reached into her backpack and pulled out her new notebook. Last time she was in her era she remembered to grab a new one. It took her most of the day to draw it, because she didn't have a model to look at.

It wasn't a perfect look alike, but she was really satisfied with the finished project.

****

Gosh, it is really hot today. It is only 8:45 in the morning and it is already 86 degrees outside (plus our air conditioner is broken.) I could really use and ice cold drink right about now.

I've got some bad news... I'm going on another trip. This one is going to be longer then my last one... 2 weeks instead of 1. But just like last time... the more reviews I get... the longer chapter 28 will be

Lots of loveDaydreamer62386 (or DD62386)


	28. Starting A New Journey

****

Disclaimer: I…don't…own…Inuyasha…

**Notes to my reviewers: I'm so happy to be back from the ... trip from hell. Thanks for the millions and millions of reviews, they really cheered me up.**

Dru: The fact that you don't send many reviews makes me feel extra special. Thanks.

Afrieal: I wouldn't have thought about putting a bowl of ice in front of a fan, thanks.

J.And: My a/c is broken because my little brother decided it would be 'funny' to stick a pitch fork in it. Ha ha ha we are all very amused. (someone remind me to shave his head when he is sleeping.)

AznInuyasha: Wow, that's really cool, I can't think of many readers that would take that much time to read my story. Here are some beautiful yellow flowers. :: hands you 12 yellow flowers ::

Luna Midnight: Wow, it may be hot in California, but you have it a lot worse. I kinnda feel better now, thanks.

Captured Moon : You two make a very cute couple. Why do you and I travel around so much...

****

Chapter Twenty Eight: Starting a new Journey

Kagome was the last person to wake up. She rolled over in her little bed and saw that Inuyasha was gone. She sat up and rubbed her sleepy eyes. "It's about time." She heard Inuyasha's voice.

"What do you mean?" he voice was a little scratchy. Inuyasha was leaning against the wall opposite of her.

"We've been waiting for you to get up all morning."

"Why didn't you just wake me up."

"Didn't want to."

Kagome stretched a little bit and reached for a fresh outfit from her backpack. She decided there was no point in wearing her school uniform anymore, because she was going to get homeschooled for a while.

"You'll need to get out." Kagome said when she picked out a mini skirt and a white tank top.

"Why?"

"I don't like getting undressed in front of people."

Inuyasha showed no sign of moving until Kagome pointed to her dog whistle. Then he couldn't seem to leave the room fast enough. "Is she awake?" Miroku asked as soon as he saw Inuyasha.

He was standing next to Sango and Shippo, everyone was going over their supplies, making sure they had every thing they could possibly need, food, medical supplies, etc.

"Yeah, she's getting dressed."

"Then why'd you come out?"

Sango hit Miroku on the back of the head. "Pervert." She mumbled while stuffing some more herbs in the pouch she planned on holding.

Inuyasha sighed and sat down on the ground. He was a little upset that it was almost noon and they hadn't started their trip yet, but it was worth it considering he got to watch Kagome sleep for a little bit longer.

"Inuyasha are you taking anything with you?" Sango asked when she finished her packing.

"Do I ever?"

"We might not be coming back to Kaede's village for a while…"

"I don't own anything that I can pack."

Miroku looked at Inuyasha, "That's true, why don't you own anything?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "I don't know. Before I met Kagome I lived in the woods so I didn't really need anything."

Miroku stretched his arms out a little bit and started to walk off. "Hey Miroku. Where the hell are you going?" Inuyasha yelled out.

"Oh." Miroku had obviously tried to go without attracting any attention. "I need to take care of some business before we go."

"Don't take to long, we're leaving as soon as Kagome is ready."

"I know I know." Miroku replied before walking off.

"Where do you think he's going?" Sango asked.

"I don't know and I don't care. I just hope he gets back before Kagome comes out."

Kagome had just finished getting dressed when Kaede walked into the room. "Kagome I'm glad you're awake."

"Kaede." Kagome hugged the elder woman. "I was a little worried that we would leave without saying goodbye."

"I wouldn't have allowed it child."

Kagome laughed and lifted up her yellow bag, it nearly tipped her over, but she managed to keep her balance. It wasn't till after she was all dressed and ready to go when she felt that familiar feeling come to her stomach.

She grabbed it with one hand and moaned a little bit. Kaede rubbed her back and said, "I have something for you that might help."

"What is it?"

Kaede handed Kagome a glass bottle that had a brown liquid in it. "Drink a little bit of this every time you get morning sickness, it might help."

"Thanks." Kagome gladly took it and drank a sip of it. It, amazingly, did help. But she still felt a little sick.

She hugged Kaede one last time before walking outside. Inuyasha was sitting with his back facing her, so he didn't notice that she had come out until she laid her hand on his shoulder.

"You ready to go?" he asked looking up at her. He could tell that she felt a little bad, but he knew there wasn't anything he could to about it. It made him feel a little sorry for her.

"Yeah. Where's Miroku."

"I don't know." Sango placed her hands on her hips. "He went off a little while ago and said he'd be right back."

"Do you know where he went?"

"No." She was obviously not happy that he left them.

"I'm right here." he walked up behind Kagome.

"When did you get here?" Sango asked.

"Just a few minutes ago. Are we leaving?"

"Yes." Inuyasha said instantly. He hated sitting around and doing nothing.

He stood up and started to walk. Miroku walked beside him with Shippo sitting on his shoulder. Sango and Kagome stayed behind some distance. "Are you excited?" Kagome asked Sango.

"About what?"

"We're going to find your brother."

"Are you sure we'll be able to find him?" Sango asked. She was starting to get worried that they would never find him.

"Well, I'm not gonna stop looking till I find him. And I know Inuyasha and Miroku will say the same thing."

Sango stopped walking and gave Kagome a hug. "Kagome, your such a good friend. I'm just worried that we might never find him. Then we'll be doing all this traveling for nothing."

"I like traveling."

Kagome smiled. When Sango let go they both ran a little bit to catch up with their men. Inuyasha looked down at Kagome when she grabbed onto his arm. "S-Something wrong?"

"No. I just wanted to walk with you."

Inuyasha smiled and reached down to lift Kagome up. She gave a happy little giggle when he lifted her onto his back. "I'm not tired yet, I can walk." He leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah, but you shouldn't."

"Shouldn't?"

"I don't want you walking around all day and night. Besides, I like carrying you."

"You do?"

"Yeah."

"Where should we stop first?" Sango asked.

Miroku glanced around, like he was looking for some kind of sign that would say _Kohaku is this way._ "I guess we should just start at the nearest village and work out way out form there."

"Does that sound good to you?" Inuyasha asked Kagome.

"Sounds like a plan." Kagome turned her head towards Sango. "I think I'll make another picture of your brother when we stop for camp."

"Why?" Sango asked.

"If we have two, we'll be able to split up and ask more people in whatever village we're in." That wasn't the only reason, Kagome had been working up a plan in her head.

She was going to wait till they got to the village closest to Kikyo's castle then try to slip away in the middle of the night. I would be hard getting away without Inuyasha noticing though.

__

Maybe I could start a fight with him she thought _and sleep in a different room._ She nuzzled her head into Inuyasha's neck, she felt guilty just thinking about something like that, but she knew that it was the best way to go about things.

She didn't want Shippo, Miroku, Sango, and especially Inuyasha to come in contact with Kikyo. She didn't know what would happen once Kikyo finds out that her spell didn't work, and she didn't want the others to be in unnecessary danger.

"Hey Kagome. Are you alright?" Shippo asked, "You look a little spaced out."

Kagome shook her head, "I'm fine, I was just thinking."

"About what?" Sango asked.

Kagome didn't know what to say. She couldn't tell them the truth. Miroku saw how uncomfortable Kagome looked and tried to think of something to take the attention off of her.

Thinking as quickly as he could he reached down and grabbed Sango's butt. "Miroku!" she yelled out and slapped him. Kagome gave him a thankful look and rested her head back on Inuyasha's shoulder.

"Sorry Sango, I couldn't resist." Miroku said.

"Yeah right. Now isn't the right time Miroku."

"When would be?"

Inuyasha laughed and Sango turned a bright red.

They walk on in silence for a little while until Sango asked, "What were you doing this morning?"

"What do you mean?" Miroku asked.

"When we were all waiting for Kagome to get dressed and you disappeared for a few minutes."

"I had someone I needed to talk to."

"About what?"

"You'll find out once we get back to Kaede's village." Miroku said with a small smirk on his face.

"Miroku," Sango poked his side, "I don't like surprises."

"Sorry Sango, but you're going to be surprised whether you like it or not."

Sango frowned, but forgot about being frustrated with Miroku when Kagome's head shot up. "Inuyasha! Put me down!"

Inuyasha turned his head to the side so he could see Kagome a little bit, "Is something wrong?"

"I'm gonna be sick Inuyasha!" she slid out of his arms and ran off the path they were walking on.

"K-Kagome." Inuyasha called out as she disappeared from their view.

"I'll go see if she's alright." Sango said following Kagome.

It didn't take her too long to find her. Kagome was sitting next to a bush, her face buried in her hands. "Kagome are you alright?" Sango asked. She sat down next to her friend and rubbed her back a little bit.

"Yeah. I'll be fine in a second." She didn't bother lifting her head out of her hands.

"So." Sango decided to take Kagome's mind off her stomach, "Have you picked a name for the baby yet?"

"I don't even know what gender the baby is yet…" Kagome sighed and lifted her head up.

"What do you mean… yet?"

"In my era, doctors can tell me if the baby is a boy or girl before it's even born."

Sango's mouth dropped open, "H-How?"

Kagome closed her eyes and tried to think of the best way to explain it. "Umm… The doctor will take a machine and look inside of me." she pointed to her stomach, "Then he'll be able to tell me if the baby is a boy or girl."

Sango was a little stunned. She had no idea that something like that was even possible. "When are you going to find out?"

"Not for a while. But I don't know if I will, I almost want to be surprised."

"I think you should have a girl."

"Why?"

"I don't know, but you should."

Kagome laughed, "I can't really make that decision."

"If you find out, will you tell us."

"I don't know. I might find out then let you guys be surprised."

"Kagome! That would be torture. Like when a writer leaves a chapter at a cliffhanger." **[wink]**

"I know."

Sango smiled and stood up. "Inuyasha is probably worried about you, come on." She reached down and pulled Kagome too her feet.

Kagome smiled and let Sango lead her back to the path they were on. Inuyasha was sitting down on the ground, but instantly stood up when he saw her. "Kagome, are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She smiled.

"Do you want a ride?"

Kagome looked up at the sky, "I think I'd like to walk for a little while."

"Alright." Inuyasha didn't like the idea of her walking. For their entire trip that day he stayed near her at all times, that way when she did want a ride she could have one easily

**... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...**

"Inuyasha..." Shippo, whom was riding on Inuyasha's shoulder, started complaining as the sun got higher in the sky, "I'm hot."

"Shippo," Inuyasha replied, "you're assuming that I give a rat's ass." The heat had also gotten to him.

"Inuyasha!" Sango screamed, "That's a terrible thing to say to a kid."

"Feh." Inuyasha shrugged. Sango wasn't the one with the dog whistle, so he couldn't care less if she was mad at him.

In all reality, Kagome would have blown the whistle (or at least slapped him across the back of his head), but the day's heat was starting to make her feel faint. She grabbed tightly onto Inuyasha's arms when a sudden feeling of dizziness overcame her.

"K-Kagome are you ok." his voice was filled with concern. It was the first time anyone had noticed how poorly she looked.

"I think I'll take that ride now." she mumbled inbetween her deep breathing.

Shippo respectfully jumped down from his shoulder as Inuyasha bent down so Kagome could climb on.

"Do you want some water?" Miroku asked once Inuyasha stood up straight again.

Kagome turned her head to the side, "No, I just need to get off my feet for a little while."

"Hate to say I told you so..." Inuyasha said.

"No you don't." Kagome laughed a little bit. "You couldn't be happier."

"Yeah I know." Inuyasha was extremely relived when he heard Kagome laugh. _She can't be too sick or hurt if she is able to laugh_ he thought to himself.

As a way of saying thank you to Inuyasha for the ride, she reached up with one hand and rubbed each of his ears. He smiled contently at her touch. "How soon do we get to the next village?" she asked when she was finished.

Inuyasha sighed with disappointment when she stopped, but answered her question anyways. "We'll stop to make camp tonight, then reach the next village in the morning."

"Are you guys gonna be mad at me if nobody recognizes Kohaku?" Sango asked the group in general.

"No." Shippo answered with out hesitating.

"But what if he's really far away. We might go from village to village for a while before we even -"

"Sango, what the hell is wrong with you!" Inuyasha cut her off, "We already said we won't be mad."

Kagome could tell that Sango was just nervous about disappointing everyone. "Sango," she lifted her head up a little bit, "look at it this way. Sometimes I would feel guilty whenever we defeated a demon or went to a village and ended up sardless."

"So."

"But I never forced and of you to join me in my search, you all came willingly, capable of leaving at anytime. This is the exact same thing." Kagome gave a little smile before resting her head back on Inuyasha's shoulder.

"Did you really feel guilty?" Inuyasha asked after a few moments of silence.

"Yeah."

"Even when it was just the two of us?"

Kagome thought back to that time, "Wow, it seems like forever and a day ago."

"I know." He sifted Kagome's weight a little bit so that she was easier to hold.

"Do you ever miss those days?" Miroku asked. When he joined their group, Shippo was already with them, so he couldn't picture Kagome and Inuyasha traveling alone.

"No," Kagome replied, "I love traveling with you guys." but in her mind she added, _sometimes._ To tell the truth, she did miss traveling alone with Inuyasha a little bit, but she would never tell the others that.

**... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...**

Shippo jumped up on Inuyasha shoulder to get a good look in the pot he was stirring. The sun had set a while ago so they decided to set up camp. Kagome was sitting against a tree trying not to let the heat of the night get to her. Sango walked off a while ago to take a bath. And Miroku walked off a little while ago.

That left Inuyasha and Shippo to work on dinner. "What are you cooking?"

"Fox meat." Inuyasha replied.

Shippo looked down at what Inuyasha was cooking, "Y-You're joking right."

Inuyasha brought the wooden spoon up to his lips, "Mmm… this fox meat is really good."

Shippo ran over to Kagome and threw himself in her arms. "Kagome, Inuyasha's being mean."

Kagome reached down for her dog whistle and blew on it for a few seconds. Inuyasha screamed and covered his ears. "Fine. I'm sorry Shippo, it's not fox meat."

Kagome smiled and moved from her spot by the tree so that she was sitting next to Inuyasha. "I'm tired." She said, leaning on him a little bit.

Inuyasha looked towards Shippo. "Hey runt. Make Kagome's bed extra comfortable tonight, ok."

"Don't call me runt." Shippo said, he found Inuyasha command a little redundant. He always made Kagome's bed a little softer then everyone else's.

Kagome yawned a little bit and closed her eyes. "That food smells really good. I didn't know you knew how to cook. Last time you tried, our camp was filled with smoke."

"That wasnt' my doing."

"But where'd you learn to cook?"

"After my mom died I kinnda had to fend for myself." He said with a bit of sadness in his tone.

Kagome snuggled a little closer to him in an attempt to comfort him. Inuyasha looked down at her. He used to hate talking about his past, to many bad memories. But Kagome always made him feel better.

He tasted the food he was cooking once more before announcing that it was done. He poured some for Kagome, Shippo, and himself… leaving some for Miroku and Sango. "Should we wait for them?" Kagome asked.

"No." Shippo said. He was really hungry and didn't want to wait any longer.

Inuyasha waited till the others started eating before digging into his own share. "Inuyasha this is really good." Kagome said gleefully.

"Thanks. I used a -" Inuyasha's sensitive ears picked up a sound coming from the direction of the river. He could faintly pick up the sound of Sango moaning.

"Used what?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha covered his ears, that sound wasn't something he wanted to hear. "Stupid Miroku." He mumbled.

Kagome gave up on trying to figure out what made him so upset. She set her empty bowl down on the ground. "I think I'll go join Sango." She stood up and started to walk away, but Inuyasha grabbed one of her ankles.

"Inuyasha what are -"

"I don't think you want to go to the river, you might — umm -" he glanced at Shippo the back to Kagome, "interrupt something."

Kagome gave him a confused look then suddenly caught on. She smiled and started to giggle a little bit. "What's so funny?" Shippo asked.

"Nothing." Inuyasha and Kagome said at the same time.

Kagome stretched her arms out. "Well, if you don't mind letting me go," Inuyasha was still holding onto her ankle, "I'll go to sleep."

Inuyasha smiled and let go of her ankle. "Good night." Kagome rubbed his ears before crawling into the bed that Shippo made for her. Inuyasha watched her sleep for a little while. He wanted to snuggle up with her, but he thought it would be best if he sat in the tree and kept a lookout, at least until Sango and Miroku were back.

Inuyasha jumped up into the tree and tried not to stare at Kagome the whole time. "Inuyasha." Shippo's voice caught his attention.

"What?"

"Can I sleep with Kagome tonight."

Inuyasha looked down at him. He hadn't ever realized that for the last few nights Shippo had been sleeping in his own bed. "Sure." He decided to just stay in the tree that night.

Shippo jumped up happily and ran to Kagome's side. She was already asleep, so he just crawled in next to her. The day after Kagome's birthday Sango sat down with him and told him that Kagome and Inuyasha might want to sleep alone. He never understood why, but didn't argue too much.

Inuyasha leaned back against the tree and continued to wait for Miroku and Sango to come back. They both walked in as quietly as they could about 20 minutes later. "Have a nice bath?" Inuyasha asked when he saw them.

Sango blushed, "Umm — yeah." She tried her best to get comfortable in her bed. It wasn't that far away from the spot that Kagome and Shippo were sleeping.

"Aren't you going to eat dinner?" Inuyasha asked.

"No. I'm not hungry." Sango mumbled before going off to sleep.

Miroku however was hungry. He ate his share and Sango's, 'don't want it to go to waste' was what he said when Inuyasha rolled his eyes at him. "Besides you shouldn't be getting mad at me, soon Kagome will be eating at least twice her share."

Inuyasha looked down at Miroku. "Yeah, but your not pregnant your just a pig."

Miroku laughed before joining Sango in her bed. "Goodnight Inuyasha."

"Yeah yeah. Night." Inuyasha glanced once more at the sleeping Kagome before finally going to sleep.

He slept pretty well, dreaming of a quiet life with Kagome, until morning came when he (along with Sango and Miroku) was woken up by the sound of Shippo screaming.

… … … … … … … … … …

Oh no! What could be happening to poor little Shippo? To bad you guys won't find out till I get 8 reviews. (evil giggle) ... just when you guys thought I wouldn't give you anymore cliffhangers...

Oh yeah. I need to ask all of my reviewers a favor. I can't think of any names for the baby. If you guys could give me some ideas, that would be awesome.

Lots of Love… Daydreamer62386


	29. The Needless Scream From Shippo

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

****

Notes to my reviewers: I remember way back when just getting to chapter 10 was a big deal. Now I'm almost at thirty.

Kougaluva: That is the most unique name I've ever heard

Pcklmonkey8: That's a really good idea, but I don't know the name of Inuyasha's mom.

Babywaterturtle: I love your pen name, where'd you come up with it.

Jammies2000: Yeah, I'm a little disappointed at Kagome myself. Don't worry, I'll try to give her some brains.

AznInuyasha: It's nice to know that you check up on my story so much. It almost makes me feel guilty about taking too long to update.

Lizzy p.r.: Because you were the first person to ask, you can officially be the baby's godmother.

Captured Moon: One of my friends (that happens to be a boy but isn't a boyfriend) said he would rather face all the terrors of hell then one cockroach. There are 140 Inuyasha shows! HOLY CRAP! I had no idea. now I feel like I'm missing out. I do watch Case Closed (it's my guilty pleasure.) my brothers always grown when I turn it on. Ok, I've spent way too much time writing this response off to the next chapter****

****

Chapter Twenty Nine: The Needless Scream from Shippo

Inuyasha jumped down from the tree, claws out, ready to fight whoever dared to attack their camp. Sango and Miroku were both standing too, looking around the camp.

"What's going on?" Sango asked when she saw that nobody was there.

All eyes fell onto Shippo. He was sitting by the base of a tree rubbing his head. "Shippo, why'd you scream?" Miroku asked.

"Yeah, why'd you wake us up!" Inuyasha added in, followed by a punch in the gut from Sango.

"I didn't mean too!" Shippo responded angrily "I was sleeping on Kagome's stomach, having a really good dream, then the next thing I knew, I was flying though the air."

"Did you hit your head on the tree?" Sango asked when she noticed a small bump forming. Shippo merely nodded.

"Why'd you go flying through the air?" Miroku asked.

"I don't know, but I did see Kagome running off when I landed."

Inuyasha looked down at the spot where Kagome had been sleeping. "She's probably sick again," he sighed, "I'll go see if she's alright."

"Poor Kagome," Miroku said once Inuyasha was gone, "I'm sure this can't be easy for her."

Sango turned her attention back to Shippo. "So. What did you dream about?" She wanted everyone to start getting in better moods.

"I-I dreamed that I had a mom again."

"Really." Sango and Miroku glanced at each other, neither of them knowing exactly how to respond.

"Guess who it was!" Shippo jumped up excitedly.

"Who?"

"Kagome." He answered as if it was the easiest and most obvious answer in the entire world.

"She has been like a second mom to you, hasn't she." Sango said.

Shippo nodded, "But soon she'll have a baby of her own so I don't think she'd want me as a kid."

"Kagome loves you like her own kin. Trust me, nothing will change that." Sango gave him a little hug, "Do you want to help me cook breakfast Shippo?"

****

Inuyasha walked away from the campsite and started following Kagome's scent. "Kagome!" he called out when he could tell he was getting closer. She didn't answer him, but he easily found her sitting in some tall grass.

"Are you alright?" he asked, sitting down next to her.

"Yeah." Her voice was a little raspy. "Just a little morning sickness, that's all."

Inuyasha lifted her into his lap and started to rub her back, "Did you take the stuff that Kaede gave you?"

"How did you know about that stuff?"

"She told me about it before we started off. Did you take it?"

"No, I forgot it." She rested her head on his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. _Man, I love that sound_ she thought.

"Remember to take some at night before you fall asleep. That way, you won't be sick in the morning."

Kagome nodded, letting him know that she understood him. Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her, "I love you." He mumbled.

Kagome lifted her head up and looked up at Inuyasha, "How do you do that?"

Inuyasha gave her a confused look, "D-Do what?"

"Every time you say I love you' my heart skips a beat. You'd think I'd be used to hearing it by now, but I still act like a school girl with a crush."

Inuyasha still didn't know what she was talking about, so he leaned down and kissed her, hoping that would answer whatever question she was trying to ask. "Come on, we should be getting back." He said once they broke apart.

Kagome merely nodded. On their way back Inuyasha insisted on carrying her on his back. She would have argued with him, saying that she was a big girl who could walk on her own, but she still wasn't feeling 100% better.

"Did I wake you up this morning?" she asked when she realized that it was still pretty early in the morning.

"No. Shippo did."

"What do you mean?"

"Shippo screamed and woke us all up."

"Scream Oh no!" she buried her face in Inuyasha's hair, "I probably tossed him when I ran off, didn't I."

"Yeah."

"Oh, he's probably really mad at me."

"Don't worry he's not hurt, in fact, it was a little funny."

Kagome lightly punched him in the shoulder, "Is not."

__

What is it with women hitting me? Inuyasha asked himself.

"Kagome!" Sango and Shippo screamed when the two of them walked into camp. Without thinking their plan fully through, the two of them jumped onto Inuyasha's back so they could get to Kagome quicker.

"Hey!" Inuyasha yelled out from the sudden weight change, but it was too late. They all fell to the ground.

"Are you ok?" Sango helped Kagome to her feet.

"I'm fine."

Sango gave a relived smile then picked up Shippo and walked over to Miroku, whom was laughing so hard at the whole event that he could hardly eat the food in front of him.

"That's right," Inuyasha said sarcastically, "nobody pay any attention to they guy who was at the bottom of the pile."

Kagome laughed a little bit then sat down next to Inuyasha. He rolled over a little bit. "Are you hurt anywhere?" she asked while running her fingers through his hair.

Inuyasha shifted a little bit on the ground, "Umm my chin hurts a little bit." Kagome leaned down to kiss it, but at the last second he moved his head and captured her lips with his own.

"Hey you two!" Miroku yelled out. "Stop playing in the dirt and eat your food, we need to get moving."

Kagome laughed at the way Miroku spoke to them. Like a parent scolding their kids. Inuyasha faintly growled at being interrupted, but Kagome just patted his shoulder and helped him off the ground.

****

Inuyasha was right when he said it wouldn't take long to get to the next village. They actually arrived not long after they finished breakfast. Some people eyed Kagome and Inuyasha suspiciously. It wasn't everyday that they saw a hanyou carrying a human girl on his back.

"I think you should put me down now." Kagome whispered in his ear.

He nodded and set her gently down on the ground. He wasn't really bothered by people starring, he was used to it, but he didn't want Kagome to feel uncomfortable. "Where should we start looking?" he asked.

Kagome reached inside her backpack and pulled out two pieces of paper. The one she drew when Sango asked her too and the other one that she made on her own. She handed one to Sango and Miroku then kept one for herself.

"You two go that way," she said pointing in one direction, "Inuyasha and I will go this way. We'll be able to ask more people if we're separated."

"When should we join up again?" Sango asked.

"This village isn't very big," Inuyasha said, "Why don't we meet up for lunch."

"Ok."

"Who am I going with?" Shippo asked.

Kagome bent down, "Do you want to come with me and Inuyasha."

Shippo jumped up on her shoulder. "Yeah." He was hoping he would get to go with Kagome, but he didn't want to say so and hurt Sango or Miroku's feelings.

"Ok, buy guys." Kagome said before starting off in the direction that she picked earlier.

"Do you think they'll find anyone who knows Kohaku?" Sango asked as she watched Kagome walk away with Inuyasha and Shippo.

"They'll probably have a harder time with it then us."

"What? Why?"

Miroku pointed at all the eyes that were following Inuyasha. "These people don't seem to like demons, they might not even give Kagome the time of day just because she's with one child demon and a half demon."

****

"Who should we ask first?" Shippo asked while looking around.

Inuyasha glared at the people who were starting at him. "I don't think-" but Kagome didn't listen to him. She ran up to the first person she saw.

It was and elderly man who was walking towards the market. "I'm sorry to bother you sir, but we're looking for someone. Do you think you could help us?"

The man looked down at Kagome, the smile he had on his face disappeared quickly when he noticed the small fox demon sitting on her shoulder. "Miss, we don't appreciate you bringing demons into our village."

"What?"

The man didn't bother repeating himself, he just ignored Kagome and continued walking. "Hey you!" Inuyasha grabbed the man's arms and held him tightly. "I believe that young lady just asked you a question."

"Get your hand off me, half breed."

Inuyasha gripped his arm tighter. "Inuyasha stop!" Kagome yelled out. When he didn't let go Kagome blew her dog whistle till Inuyasha couldn't take it anymore.

"I was just defending you honor." He defended himself.

"Don't worry about my honor. Sango will be really sad if we can't find her brother just because you had to act like a knight."

"A what?"

"Nothing."

"H-How did you do that?" Inuyasha and Kagome turned to see that the elderly man was still watching them.

"How did I do what?" Kagome rested her hands on her hips. She wasn't going to treat this man any better then he treated her.

"When you blew on that thing it made now sound, but he acted like it did." The man glanced between Inuyasha and Kagome.

Kagome touched one hand to the metal object around her neck. "It's not that easy to explain."

"Are you some kind of witch?" someone else asked. Kagome looked around. A small crowed had formed without her even noticing. Most likely around the time Inuyasha grabbed the man's arm.

"Yeah." Inuyasha said instantly to the man, "She a powerful and deadly witch, and because you didn't offer your help when she needed it, we're gonna leave and put a curse on your village."

The village people gasped and Kagome gave Inuyasha the meanest look she could come up with.

"I'm sorry I treated you so harshly," the man walked over and grabbed Kagome's hand, "What do you need help with?"

Kagome sighed, _This is probably wrong on so many levels_ she thought, "I'm looking for this boy." She held out the drawing.

The elderly man, along with others from the village took a good long look at it. "I'm sorry, but I haven't see anyone like this in our village. Please don't curse us."

"I won't." Kagome mumbled before walking away with Inuyasha.

"So what do you want to do now?" Inuyasha asked.

"Inuyasha." Kagome spoke in a whisper that sounded just as demanding as a scream "You are in so much trouble when we leave this village."

"What did I do?"

"You told those people that I was a witch."

"So."

"I'M NOT."

"Well, they weren't going to help us unless they were afraid of us."

"Inuyasha, that's not the point."

Shippo didn't want Kagome and Inuyasha to fight, "Can we get something to eat?"

"You just ate breakfast."

"I know, but I'm hungry again."

Inuyasha sighed, "Fine, we'll have something really quick before we start asking people again."

****

Sango and Miroku were starting to get tired. They had asked, what seemed like, a hundred people if they had ever seen or heard of Kohaku, but none of them did. "Can we rest for a little while?" Sango asked.

"Yeah." Miroku pulled her over to a spot that had some shade and sat down.

"I wonder if Kagome and Inuyasha are having any luck." Sango leaned against him.

"I don't think they will, it doesn't seem like anyone in this village has any idea who Kohaku is."

"I guess we'll go to the next village."

"Yeah. It's not too far."

Sango looked up when one young, teenage looking, girl ran up to another one standing a short distance away from them. "Did you hear what just happened near the market?" the first girl started to say.

Sango remembered when she was younger and used to gossip, without even realizing it she started to listen in on what they were saying.

"What happened?"

"A girl came into our village with one child demon sitting on her shoulder and another half demon following her."

"Really?"

Sango nudged Miroku in the stomach to make sure he was listening too, she could tell they were talking about Kagome.

"Yeah. It seems they were looking for a small boy."

"So."

"Well, she went to one of our elders and asked him for help. He naturally turned her down, you know how we aren't supposed to help demons or people who befriend demons"

"What happened."

"When the elder turned her down, the half demon grabbed his arm like he was gonna attack him."

"Did he?"

"No. The girl did some kind of magic."

Sango made a face.

"Magic?"

"Yeah. She blew on something that made no sound, but the half demon grabbed his ears, like she was hurting him."

"How did she do that?"

Sango and Miroku tried not to laugh, they knew that Kagome had simply used the dog whistle.

"It turns out that she's a witch!"

"No."

"Yeah. And the half breed said that she would curse our village if the elder man didn't help her."

"Did he?"

"He had no choice. Come on, let's go to the market and see if anything knew happened."

The two girls ran off. Miroku looked down at Sango; "Do you want to go find Kagome."

"Yeah." She laughed. She couldn't wait to talk to Kagome and get her side of the story.

The two of them saw Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippo sitting in some grass with a pile a food in front of them. They didn't notice Sango and Miroku walking towards them because they were busy debating something. "Inuyasha, it was rude to take all this food."

"I didn't take it, they gave it to me."

"We should have paid."

"Hey, if they want to give us free food for our journey then they can go right ahead. You won't find me complaining."

"Inuyasha! They're giving us free food because they think I'll put a curse on their village."

Inuyasha shrugged. "If they're stupid enough to believe it then -"

"Inuyasha!"

"Hey guys." Sango called out. "I thought we were going to meet for lunch." She said when she reached them.

"We were going too, but Shippo got hungry." Inuyasha said.

Miroku sat down and grabbed a red apple from the pile of food. "How did you get all this."

"I went to go buy something, and the villagers kept handing me food." Inuyasha said.

Sango turned towards Kagome; "Miroku and I heard the funniest rumor about you being a witch."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Inuyasha can get carried away sometimes."

They all ate their fill and stored the rest of the food in silence until Sango decided to speak. "I don't think anyone here knows Kohaku, we should get moving to the next village."

"Alright." Kagome stood up and brushed some dirt off of her skirt. "I don't want to hang around here anyways." She referred to the group of people that kept staring at her with big eyes. Like they were waiting for her to make one of them burst into flames. They had been following her around since the little scene earlier that day.

****

I don't have the energy to leave a cliffhanger sorry (though most of you are probably grateful). I want 10 reviews.

**__**

ALERT: Ok, I've picked the name for the baby. Thanks for all the suggestions. Can't say what the name is, but I'll give you a hint... it has the letter 'I' in it. Oh yeah, and_ Lizzy p.r_. is the godmother (just to let y'all know).

Lots of love Daydreamer62386


	30. A Simple Deed From Kagome

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

****

Notes to my reviewers: This chapter is dedicated to _Inufreak831_, _Captured Moon_, and _Eekolie_

Inufreak831: You definitely deserve a shout out, so to make up for the lack of shout outs towards you, I shall send you someone who doesn't R&R, make 14 century armor, write, or read fanfics to torture. Enjoy : )

Winxy: Some people have trouble writing long chapters, but I have trouble writing short chapters.

Captured Moon: I have thought about writing a fanfic on Case Closed, but I haven't thought of any good plots.

Commitmentette: I won't it takes a lot more then "fill in chapter" to insult me.

Xio-4-eva: I don't know how long my story will get, I'll just keep writing till I'm bored (or) out of ideas. Because you're a new member I welcome you, here is a yellow flower for your enjoyment ::hands you a yellow flower::

AznInuyasha: Sure. You're the first person to ask, so I guess that means your going to be the baby's godfather.

DF: Thanks for the tip, I was wondering when it stopped.

****

Chapter Thirty: A Simple Deed From Kagome

It was long after midnight when they started to arrive at the next village. None of them thought it would take that long, so they were all pretty tired. Sango, Shippo, and Kirara were all asleep. Miroku was carrying Sango on his back, Inuyasha was holding Shippo, and in Kagome's arms was Kirara. **(Wow, that's — like — the first time I've made a reference to Kirara huh.)**

"You ok, Kagome." Miroku asked. Kagome, who was really tired, kept stumbling around. Inuyasha even had to put out his arm to catch her every now and then.

"I'm fine." She said, followed by a yawn.

"I can carry you." Inuyasha said. He had gone nights without sleep a lot more often then Kagome did, so he was used to it.

"I'm fine," Kagome said with a harsher tone in her voice (going without sleep made her grumpy), "I just want to find a place to sleep tonight."

"We could set up camp."

Kagome squinted her eyes and looked off into the distance in front of them. "No. We're only an hour or so away from the town."

"Do you think we'll find a place to stay?" Inuyasha asked.

"I'm sure someone will give us a room." Miroku said.

Both the men walked on for a little while until they noticed Kagome wasn't with them. "Kagome?" Inuyasha turned around and looked at her. She was standing completely still, looking down at her feet.

"Kagome, what's wrong?" Miroku and Inuyasha walked up to her.

She took in a deep breath. "Your right Inuyasha, we should set up camp."

"But I thought -"

"If this town is anything like the last one we won't find anyplace to sleep. We should wait till morning."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Ok." Inuyasha set Shippo down on the ground and started to set up beds for everyone. With Miroku's help they were able to manage it in a few short minutes. Sango and Miroku shared a bed, Shippo had his own, and Inuyasha was putting the last touches on the bed for him and Kagome.

"You can lay down now." He said to Kagome, who hadn't moved very much from the spot she was standing in.

"Thanks Inuyasha." She sat down on it and watched Inuyasha start a fire. It only took her a few seconds to doze off to sleep, but she woke up when she felt a pressure on her stomach. She lifted her head up a little bit and noticed that Inuyasha was pressing his head against it.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

Inuyasha smiled at her, "I just wanted to listen for the baby before I went to sleep."

"Listening? I'm only about," she did the math in her head, "four months along. You couldn't possibly hear anything."

"I could and I can. I have demon ears remember."

Kagome laughed a little bit and leaned back again. Inuyasha lifted his head away form her stomach and settled into the spot next to her. "Inuyasha"

"Hmm?"

"What was your mother's name?"

Inuyasha wrapped his arms tightly around Kagome. "Why do you want to know?"

"I just do."

"Her name was, Kaiyo."

Kagome snuggled a little closer to Inuyasha. "If our baby is a girl, we should name her after your mother."

Inuyasha looked down at Kagome, "You sure you want to do that."

"Yeah."

He gave a little smile, "What if it is a boy?"

Kagome thought about it for a few seconds, "You can pick the name."

"Why me?"

Kagome didn't answer his question. She simply nuzzled her head into Inuyasha's chest and went to sleep.

****

Sango's eyes opened when she felt the sun beating down on her. _Where are we?_ she asked herself. The last thing she remembered was Miroku lifting her up so that she wouldn't have to walk.

She rolled over and noticed that Miroku was asleep right next to her. "Miroku." She whispered. His eyes moved under his eyelids a little, but he didn't open them.

"Miroku." She said a little louder. When he didn't wake up this time, she pulled on his ear. His eyes snapped open and looked down at her.

"May I help you miss."

"Miroku, where are we?"

Miroku stretched his arms and sat up. "Kagome thought it would be best if we stopped and made camp."

"Really?" Sango sat up and looked over at Kagome. She was still asleep next to Inuyasha.

"Yeah. She was worried that the town we're going to will be like the last one."

"What would she be worried about?"

"She didn't want us to walk all the way just to be turned down when we ask for a room to stay in."

Sango sighed and stood up. "Kagome is too sweet for her own good."

Miroku stood up and walked over to the spot that Kagome was sleeping in. "Kagome." He tapped her shoulder.

"Miroku what are you doing?"

"We should get ready to go, shouldn't we?" he continued to tap her shoulder, but she wasn't waking up. Then Miroku got an idea. His hand moved down a little bit and pinched her butt.

Kagome screamed and slapped Miroku hard across the face, Sango whacked him on the back of the head, and Inuyasha (who was woken up by Kagome's screamed) punched him on the shoulder.

Miroku turned towards Shippo, "Do you want to put in a hit as long as I'm here?"

Shippo shook his head. He woke up when Kagome screamed, but didn't have any idea what was going on, nor did he really care. "I'm hungry." He said after he was fully awake.

Kagome looked in the direction the town was. "Why don't we eat when we get there."

"Ok."

"Should we get moving?" Inuyasha asked.

Sango tugged on Kagome's sleeve, "Are we anywhere near a stream?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I kinnda want to take a bath."

"That sounds good, I'll join you." Kagome said. The girls walked off.

"I guess that means no." Inuyasha said to himself.

Kagome lead the way to the stream that wasn't very far from the area where they had spent the night. When they reached it, both girls tested out the water by sticking their hands in it. It was freezing cold, but neither of them cared.

After striping down they both entered the water. Kagome let out a minor yelp when the cold water flowed around her body. Sango laughed at her reaction and began to swim around. "Have you been thinking about names for your baby?" she asked when they were both settled in.

"Not really. If it's a girl, we're going to name it after Inuyasha's mom and if it's a boy Inuyasha will come up with a name."

"So I guess he's the one I should be bugging."

Kagome laughed. "Yeah." She dipped herself under the water, to get her hair wet.

"Kagome, could I ask you something?" Sango said when her head was once again above the water.

"Sure."

"Is our search for the jewel shards on a stand still until my brother is found?"

"Do you want it to be?"

Sango pressed her hand against her forehead. "No, I just don't want you to get to distracted to notice any jewel shards."

"Don't worry about it."

"Why?"

Kagome looked around. "Promise me you won't tell anyone"

"Yeah."

"I already know where the rest of the jewel shards are."

"What!" Sango yelled out without meaning too.

"Shhh, don't tell. Especially not Inuyasha."

"Why? Should we all get them now, while you still remember."

"No. The rest of the jewel is with Kikyou."

"Kagome, how are we supposed to get them."

Kagome leaned back and looked up at the clouds in the sky. "I have a plan, but I might need your help."

"Anything."

"When we get to a village near Kikyou's castle, I'm going to start a fight with Inuyasha, then say I'm sleeping in your room."

"Why?"

"I'll sneak away during the night. If I stay in a room with Inuyasha, he'll ask why I'm leaving."

"Ok, but where do I come in?"

Kagome moved a little closer to Sango. "You will need to cover for me as much as possible. Tell Inuyasha things like, I'm taking a bath, I'm going for a walk, anything. Try to keep him from noticing that I'm gone as long as possible."

"That won't be easy."

"I know."

Sango sighed and thought about it for a little while. Then her eyes snapped open. "Kagome, you're not suggesting going on your own are you!"

"Yes."

"Kagome no! You can't go and fight Kikyou on your own. What if you get hurt?"

"I'm not going to fight her. I'm going to try and get into her castle and back out again without her knowing."

"Is that possible?"

"Yes at least I think it is."

Both the girls looked up when they heard Miroku's voice in the background. "Girls, hurry up!"

As they were getting dressed Kagome looked over at her friend. "Sango, please don't tell anyone. I don't want you guys getting in any unnecessary danger."

"I'm not going to be able to talk you out of this am I."

"No."

Sango sighed. "Fine, I won't tell. But I really wish you would reconsider going alone."

Kagome smiled, but shook her head. That was the last the two talked about it all day. The men wondered why they were so silent when they got back, but didn't question them.

****

Inuyasha set Kagome back on her feet when the reached the village. She took him up on his offer when he asked her if she wanted a ride, but now that they were there, she told him that it would be better if she walked.

"Should we split up again?" Miroku asked.

"No." Inuyasha said, "There really isn't any point. Come on."

They all started to walk through the town, paying close attention to the people around them. Kagome was trying really hard to reach their faces and see if they had any problem with Inuyasha or Shippo. But from what she could tell, they didn't. Nobody even seemed to notice the two demons.

"Who should we ask?" Shippo looked around.

"Well why don't we -" Kagome started to say, until she noticed something.

"Kagome?"

She ignored Sango's voice and started to walk off the path they were on. Inuyasha glanced over at Sango before they all followed her.

Kagome kept on walking till she was near her destination. From the path she had been on, she saw a small girl curled up, crying. "What's wrong?" She asked, sitting down next to her.

The child stopped crying and looked up at Kagome, without saying anything she held out her hand. Kagome looked down at it and noticed some blood. "What happened."

"I fell." She mumbled.

Kagome reached inside her backpack and pulled out the first aid kit. "Here, let me see it."

"Kagome, what's going on?" Inuyasha asked.

"This little girl is hurt." Kagome said. The others watched as she used some disinfectant on the cut. The girl cried out but didn't pull her hand away. "You're very brave." She whispered to her.

"Thank you." The girl said.

Kagome smiled and placed a Band-Aid on the girl's hand. "There you go." She patted the little girl on her back.

"Are you done?" Miroku asked.

"Yeah." Kagome stood up and smiled down at the little girl. "Try to keep that cut clean, ok."

"Ok."

Kagome started to walk along with everyone else to find someone they could ask about Kohaku. "That was nice of you Kagome." Sango said.

"It was nothing."

They continued to walk. "Hey." She yelled out. The little girl had grabbed onto Kagome's hand and pulled her off in a certain direction. The others started to follow her, wondering where the girl was taking her.

Kagome ran along with the child until she stopped at a small house. "Come on." The girl said. "You can meet my mommy and daddy." She pulled Kagome in.

"S-Should we go in too?" Sango asked.

"Yeah." Inuyasha said instantly. He started to walk towards the door, but Miroku placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Inuyasha," he said, "we weren't invited."

"I don't care."

He walked in the house and was soon followed by Sango, Miroku, and Shippo. He saw that Kagome was sitting on the floor with the girl and an older man and woman.

"I'm sorry." The man chuckled, "My daughter likes to bring home people she likes."

"It's ok." Kagome said.

The woman glanced at Kagome and the others. "I'm sorry, but I haven't seen any of you before. Are you new in town."

"Actually, we're travelers."

"Oh. You are welcome to spend the night at our house if you need to. If our daughter likes you, then we like you."

Sango sat down next to Kagome. "Thank you. We aren't putting you out are we?"

"No. Almost everyone who travels through our town stays at this house. We welcome visitors."

Kagome's eyes opened wide. "Really. Maybe you could help us."

"How?"

"We're looking for a friend of ours. Maybe he passed through here." She took out one of the drawings out of her backpack and showed it to the couple.

Silence filled the house for a few minutes till the woman finally said, "Yes, we've seen him before. Kohaku right."

****

Wouldn't it suck if I ended the story here. You guys would never get to find out what's gonna happen to Kikyo, whether or not Kohaku will ever be found, and you would never get to find out what Kagome's baby would be like but don't worry. I may leave cliffys every once and a while, but I'm not that evil.

Following the advice from Captured Moon I'm going to ask for a high number of reviews. 375 should do it : P

__

P.S. AznInuyasha is the baby's godfather.

Lots of loveDaydreamer62386


	31. Swallowing Some Pride

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha

****

Notes to my reviewers: For everyone who was reading _A Good Reason to Mind Your Own Damn Business_ I'll have it posted again in a little while, I needed to fix some stuff in it, sorry.

MeBeIsh: Yeah, you've reviewed before. I know because it is really hard to forget a cool pen name like yours.

Eekolie: You would really hug my story if it were a book? Wow, if that isn't love, I don't know what is. They baby will need lots of friends, so sure, you can be the baby's friend.

Cattypawsmiko: Your right, 375 reviews are a lot to ask for. 374 would have done the trick, lol : )

Captured Moon: Holy Cow! How long could one review possibly be? You have greatly exceeded my expectations (Oh no, I'm starting to sound like my lit. teacher.) I can't wait for your new story to come out. I've been thinking about writing another story, but I don't know if I should wait till this one is done or not. They probably changed the Japanese names to English ones because I don't know.

Inulova4lyfe: I would have a voting contest to see what the public wants, but I'm too afraid they'll pick the wrong gender.

****

Chapter Thirty One: Swallowing Some Pride

Sango sat up a little straighter, "Y-You know him. Was he here?" she was trying desperately to hide the excitement in her voice, but failing.

"He stayed at our house for a little while." The woman said, handing the drawing back over to Kagome. "It was a rather strange visit, though."

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked.

"He stayed for a few days, helping around the house. But he would never tell us where he came from."

"Why?"

"He said he couldn't remember. Then on day he just left, saying something about finding his sister you wouldn't be her would you?" the woman asked Kagome.

"No. I'm his sister." Sango said, "Please, do you have any idea where he went."

"I can point you all in the right direction tomorrow morning. For now, you should all make yourselves comfortable. A good days rest will do anyone good."

"Thanks." Kagome said. She was happy to have their first lead on Kohaku.

The woman glanced up at Inuyasha and Miroku, "So what are all of your names."

Kagome blushed, "Oh! Sorry that was rude of me. I'm Kagome, this is Sango," while pointing "and that's Inuyasha and Miroku."

"And who is this little one?" the man asked, picking up Shippo.

"I'm Shippo." He responded trying not to squirm too much.

"I guess," the woman started to say, "we should figure out the sleeping arrangements."

"Yes." The man agreed.

"We have two extra rooms. You two girls could take one, while -"

"Well" Sango started to say.

The woman looked at her, "Is something wrong?"

Kagome answered for her. "Miroku and Sango are going to be married in a little while, I think they'd prefer to share a room."

Sango nodded, so they lady paused for a few seconds to rethink her ideas. "Ok. Sango and Miroku can share one of the rooms. Kagome, you can take the other one and share it with Shippo. That just leaves you Inuyasha."

"I can sleep outside." He said. He didn't know how these people would react to Kagome and Inuyasha sharing a room.

"If that's alright with you."

"I sleep outside all the time." He shrugged.

"It's very nice of you to let us stay. Is there anything I could do for you?" Kagome asked. She wanted to repay the favor.

"Well," the lady brought her hand up to her chin, "I guess you could help me with dinner if you want too, but that's not for a while. Why don't you guys just rest for a little while."

Inuyasha sat next to Kagome. He wasn't really sure how to act around these people. It wasn't very often that complete stranger were nice to them just for the hell of it. "Ummis there anything to do in this town? It seems a little boring to me."

"Inuyasha." Kagome frowned at him.

"Hey, I'm just being honest."

The little girl from earlier walked up to Inuyasha and pulled on his sleeve. "I can take you someplace fun." She said quietly.

"What's your name?" Inuyasha asked.

"Mai."

Inuyasha sighed _What could I lose_ he thought. He stood up, "You coming Kagome?"

"Sure." Inuyasha helped her to her feet and they both followed Mai out the door.

"Those two seem" the woman watched them walk away, "involved. Are they a couple?"

"Yeah." Sango said. "They're even going to have a baby soon."

"Really!" the woman smiled. "How sweet."

"Is it smart for her to be traveling around?" the man asked.

Miroku laughed a little bit. "We asked her that same thing, but she said she'll be fine."

"So, when are you two getting married?"

"When we get home?" Sango said. According to Kagome's plan, that wasn't completely untrue. Mainly she didn't want to bring up the subject of the jewel.

"Oh."

Sango looked over at Shippo. He was sitting on the floor looking down at his feet. "Shippo, are you bored?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Why don't you go with Inuyasha and Kagome."

Shippo ran out of the house like he had been waiting for one of them to say that.

****

Inuyasha grabbed onto Kagome's hand while they both followed Mai. She seemed to know really well where they were going. "Have you thought about boy names yet?"

"Some. I still don't know why you're letting me pick the name. Isn't it like important to a woman to choose the name of her baby."

"It's your baby too, you should get some say in the name. Besides, if I don't like the name I'll just say no."

Inuyasha laughed then turned around. "Shippo's calling your name."

"Really?" Kagome turned around too, off in the distance she could just make out Shippo running in their direction. It still impressed her, how good Inuyasha's ears were. All three of them waited for Shippo to catch up.

When he reached them, he immediately jumped on Kagome's shoulder. "Hi Shippo." She laughed.

"Sango told me that I could go with you guys."

"Did she? You'll have to ask Mai."

Shippo blushed a little bit. He didn't like the idea of asking a girl that was younger then for permission. But he sucked up his pride and jumped down to the spot Mai was standing.

"Mai"

"Yes?"

"Can I go with you?" he didn't really look her straight in the eyes.

"Sure."

Shippo sighed from relief and jumped back onto Kagome's shoulder.

"That wasn't so bad was it?" Kagome whispered into his ear.

Inuyasha reached over and pinched Kagome's arm causing her to scream. "Why'd you do that?"

"You were starting to sound like and old lady."

"Was I really?"

Shippo and Inuyasha both nodded. "Oh. I guess I should be thanking you then."

"Anytime."

Mai pulled on Inuyasha's sleeve a little bit. "It's not very far away." Then she ran a short distance ahead of them, but stayed with in their eyesight.

"I wonder where she's taking us?" Inuyasha said out loud.

"I don't know," Kagome responded "but we'll find out soon."

****

Wow. I've been dealing with a lot of stressful stuff the last few weeks, but don't pity me. I just wanted to know if you guys to pack your reviews full of magical energizing waves again. If you did, the next chapter would probably be better and longer, plus it would be greatly appreciated.

Lots of love DD62386


	32. Losing Something Very Very Important

****

Disclaimer: _I don't own Inuyasha_

****

Notes to my reviewers:

Essis: Ok.

Dark Neko17: She'll have the baby as soon as she's taken care of Kikyo. She'll take care of Kikyo once she finds Kohaku. She'll find Kohaku once she is seven months pregnant. : )

Lizzy p.r.: I tried what you siad... clearing my mind and focusing on something that I like doing. It actually worked really well, thanks. I'm going to use that method more often.

Inufreak831: A lot of people have tried to guess what's going to happen with the 'overly nice' couple. You're on the right track, but in the wrong car. (That's a saying my dad taught me.)

Captured Moon: Your reviews always count for three or four. I think they changed the names so that you could have something to ponder. Sorry, but I do have a requirement this time so you are no longer the free person that you thought you once were (Mwahahahahahahahaha)

Eekolie: I guess your advice worked. This chapter is a lot longer then my last one (10 pages longer). I did the dance and it made me laugh so much. Now I'm gonna do it every time I'm stressed.

**Chapter Thirty Two: Losing Something Very Very Important**

Kagome and Inuyasha followed Mai and Shippo (whom had decided that he would rather walk with another kid then the two of them). "I feel kinnda bad for Shippo."

"Why?" Inuyasha looked down at Kagome.

"He doesn't get to hang around kids very much."

Inuyasha looked towards Shippo. He always had to entertain himself as a child so sometimes he forgot that Shippo might want another kid to play with. "Well he'll get to play with ours, won't he?"

"Yeah. But our baby won't be old enough to play for a while."

"What about the kids in Kaede's village."

"Huh?"

"He'll get to play with the kids in Kaede's village once we settle down there, right."

Kagome looked down at her feet and didn't answer Inuyasha. She hadn't really thought about where she would stay once the baby was born. Part of her wanted to take it to her time, but she would have a hard time explaining it to her old friends (especially if it had ears or eyes like Inuyasha.)

Plus she didn't know how Inuyasha would feel about living in her time, he might become uncomfortable with all the new and modern stuff.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha got a little worried when she stayed silent for a while, "Kagome?"

Kagome's head snapped up, like she had just woken up. "What?"

"Y-You do want to settle down in Kaede's village, don't you?"

"Umm – I think so."

"What do you mean?" If Kagome didn't want to stay in Kaede's village he was fine with that. He was willing to follow her anywhere.

"N-Nothing. It would be nice staying in Kaede's village. It would be near the well, so I would get to visit my family whenever I wanted too -"

"Kagome, would you rather stay in your time?"

She looked up at Inuyasha, _Is he serious?_ she asked herself. He certainly didn't look like he was joking. "I don't know, maybe – no."

"No?"

"I think we'll all be a lot happier in this time. Besides, I couldn't leave the others especially Shippo."

"Ok."

Shippo wasn't paying much attention to what Inuyasha and Kagome were talking about, but he did hear the last part, _I couldn't leave the others, especially Shippo._ Hearing that made him smile. Sango was right about Kagome after all.

"So." Shippo started talking to Mai "Where are we going."

"A magical place."

"What?"

"All the kids go to it when they're bored. It's near the stream."

"What do you mean magical?"

"The water is magical. It glitters and shoots water up during the day time."

"What happens at night?"

Mai looked down at her feet, "I don't know. I'm not allowed to wander around at night."

"Why?"

"I had an older brother, but he died when I was two."

"How?"

Mai sighed, "Mommy said that he wandered around at night, and wild animals got him."

Shippo felt bad about asking. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok." Mai said, putting a smile back on her face. She looked up ahead the path they were walking on and smiled. "We'll be there in a few minutes." She yelled back to Inuyasha and Miroku.

"Ok." Kagome waved back.

"Come here." Inuyasha grabbed Kagome around the waist and placed her up on his back.

"Inuyasha!"

"You look like you could use a rest from walking all day."

Kagome laughed "You worry too much."

"Come on Kagome, you know you like it when I spoil and protect you."

Kagome smiled, "Yup."

Mai ran up to the very top of a hill in front of them and waved back, "We're here." She shouted.

****

Sango stood next to the door and watched for the three of them to get back. "Do you know where they're going?" she asked the woman. The older man was out with Miroku chopping up wood to cook dinner with.

"She probably took them to the magical' spot."

"What's that."

"I'm not sure. I've never gone there myself, but it's a place that all the kids like to go too."

"What do they do?"

"They just run around playing games. I think it's the only area in our village that's big enough."

Sango turned and looked at the woman. She was sitting on the floor washing some cloth. "What are you doing?"

"Just washing this dusty cloth."

"Is there anything I could help you with?"

"No. Why don't you go outside, enjoy the fresh air."

Sango smiled and walked out. She could see Miroku walking towards her off in the distance carrying a bundle of wood over his shoulder. She blushed a little when she noticed that his shirt wasn't on. _God he's cute _she giggled to herself.

"Hey Sango." Miroku said as he came up to her. "Did Inuyasha and Kagome come back yet?"

"No."

"Oh well." He kissed her on the cheek and started walking again.

Sango smiled and watched him leave. After pulling herself out of the daze she was in, she walked over to the spot that Mai's father was. "Hello sir." She said.

"Oh. Hello Sango."

"You and your wife have been so nice. Thank you for taking us in. Not many people want to."

"Why?"

Sango shrugged. "They don't trust Inuyasha."

"Why wouldn't they trust him, has he done something wrong."

"No." Sango said, not remembering the stories of what he was like before Kikyo put him under the spell, "They don't like him because he's a half demon."

"Interesting"

Sango looked up at the man, a little confused. "What do you mean?"

"In this village, we honor people who are half demons."

"You do. Why?"

"Humans and Demons usually stay away from each other if they can help it, pardon the attacks on either side. So when a demon and a human are able to befriend each other – even love each other – we honor that."

Sango looked off in the direction Kagome and Inuyasha had walked off in. "I wish we had more time to stay here. Inuyasha would really like it here."

"Well, my house is always welcome to you and your friends if you need a place to stay."

"Thanks." Sango bowed a little bit and walked off, once again, meeting Miroku half way and getting another kiss on her cheek.

"I still say that I'm the luckiest guy in the world." Miroku whispered in her ear before joining the elderly man again.

****

Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippo really enjoyed the magical' place Mai had taken them too. There was already a bunch of kids running around playing (Shippo and Mai quickly joined them.) Some of the ones that were to young for self control wanted to play with Inuyasha's ears.

He acted like he didn't like it, but Kagome could easily see through him. She could tell that he was actually enjoying himself. She walked over and sat down next to the stream that shot water up into the air every few minutes.

"I wonder how it dose that." Inuyasha said when he sat down next to her.

"It's a -" she had learned about this type of thing in her science class, but stopped herself.

"It's a what?" Inuyasha looked at her.

"Do you really want to know? A lot of people prefer to stick with a magic' theory in life."

"No. Tell me."

Kagome smiled. "It's an under water geyser."

"O-Oh."

Kagome could tell that her answer confused Inuyasha even more, but she didn't feel like going into the whole scientific theory right at that moment. "I'll explain it some other time." She said, leaning up against him.

Inuyasha wrapped his arm around her waist. "It's really nice here."

"This spot?"

"No – well, yes – but I mean this village. It's a really nice village, the people don't stare at me." He let go of Kagome and moved so that he was laying on the ground, his head resting in her lap.

"I'm guess you'll be happy when you're a full demon. Then nobody will treat you with any less respect then you deserve."

Inuyasha looked up at Kagome; she looked a little sad when she talked about him being full demon. "Kagome?"

"Hmm."

"D-Do you want me to be human?"

Kagome didn't answer; instead she rubbed his ears. Inuyasha waited for her response, but when it didn't come he closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling. After a few minutes, without meaning to, he fell asleep.

She continued rubbing his ears even after he fell asleep. He had a little smile on his face that melted Kagome's heart, so she couldn't bring herself to stop.

They day continued on like that for a while. Kagome rubbing Inuyasha's ears while he slept in her lap. Mai and Shippo playing with the other kids. And water shooting out of the stream every ten minutes or so.

"Kagome."

She turned her head when she felt some one tug on her shirt. It was Mai. "Hello Mai."

"We should go. It will be dark soon and my mommy and daddy don't want me out at night."

"Ok. Go get Shippo, then we'll leave."

Mai ran off. Kagome sighed and tried to think of the best way to wake Inuyasha up. "Inuyasha." She whispered. One of his ears twitched, but he didn't wake up. She smiled and leaned down to kiss him.

It was only a soft short kiss, but it did the trick. Inuyasha opened his eyes and looked up at Kagome. "You let me fall asleep." He mumbled.

"You looked so cute, I didn't have the heart to wake you up."

"But you just did."

"That's because it's time for us to go back."

Inuyasha groaned and stood up. He helped Kagome to her feet the brought her real close. "I will admit, that was a nice wake up call." He leaned down and kissed her fully on the lips. Kagome wrapped her arms around his neck and only pulled away when she couldn't hold her laughter in any longer.

All the kids that were near the two of them started making kissing noises and, in high pitched tones, kept saying Oh Inuyasha.' (It was their imitations of Kagome). She thought they were hilarious.

"Come on" she tugged on his shirt. The two of them walked over to the spot that Shippo and Mai were in.

"Are you guys ready to go?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yeah." They said in unison.

By the time all four of them were back at Mai's house, dinner was already being served. "Oh no!" Kagome gasped when she saw this. "I was supposed to help you with dinner, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it." The woman said. "Sango helped me. Besides, I knew you wouldn't get back in time."

"How?"

"Almost everyone loses track of the time when they go to the magical' place."

Kagome smiled. She really did feel guilty about not helping cook, but there was no point in dwelling on the past. So she sat down next to Inuyasha and enjoyed the meal.

"So." The woman looked at Kagome. "Sango and Miroku tell me that you're Inuyasha's mate."

Kagome rolled her eyes. She was starting to dislike that term. "Yeah." She sighed.

"Don't get to excited." Inuyasha said sarcastically. He didn't know if he should feel offended by her tone or not.

"It's not that." Kagome smiled. "It's just. The word mate' sounds so unromantic."

"Why don't you two get married then. I'm sure the word wife is much more romantic."

Kagome smiled. "No. I can't marry Inuyasha."

"Why not?" Inuyasha and Mai's mom both asked as the same time.

"It would be to complicated."

"Complicated?" Inuyasha stared at Kagome.

Sango could tell that Kagome was desperate for a change of conversation. "So. How long have you guys lived here?" she asked the older couple.

"Only a few years."

The meal was finished while everyone had simple, non-important, conversations. Mai's mother began to gather up the dirty dishes and looked at Sango and Kagome. "Why don't you two girls take a bath. The men can take one after you."

"At the stream."

"No. There's a hot spring near our house. Mai, why don't you take them to it, you could use a bath too."

"Ok mommy." She stood up and pulled Kagome out the door. _She likes to pull people _she thought to herself.

It only took Mai a minute or so to find the spring. When the three of them reached it, she started to undress and jumped in as quickly as she could. "Do you need help undressing?" she called out when her head was above the water again.

"That's alright." Sango said.

Mai jumped out of the water and ran to Kagome. "I'll help you." She said and began to unclasp her necklaces.

"T-Thanks." Kagome laughed. Mai was a really spirited girl.

Kagome got into the water and swam around before sitting next to Sango. "These people are nice." She said.

"Yeah. We should stop here on our way back. Inuyasha would like it."

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked.

"Mai's dad told me that the people here, actually like half demons."

"Really. That's great. Oh, that reminds me, thanks for changing the subject at dinner tonight."

"Anytime."

****

Inuyasha stood outside and tried to decide between the two trees near the house. Neither one looked appealing. "Inuyasha" he turned and saw Kagome standing in the doorway.

"What?"

"Aren't you going to sleep in my room."

"I don't know, Mai's parents said -"

Kagome grabbed his hands, "They're the ones that told me to come get you." She pulled him indoors and walked to the little room that she and Shippo were supposed to sleep in.

Shippo was soundly sleeping by the window. Kagome glanced at him then moved into her bed. Inuyasha took the spot next to her and wrapped his arms around her. "Kagome"

"What?"

"Why don't you want to marry me?"

Kagome sighed, she hadn't meant to hurt his feelings or anything. "I told you Inuyasha, it would be to complicated."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm only 16. In my time, girls don't usually get married till they're in their 20s. I'm just not ready to get married."

"But you're ready to have a baby?"

"I can't really back down on that now, can I?"

"B-But if I asked you to marry me would you say yes."

"Inuyasha, please don't tell me that was your idea of a proposal."

"No. I was just wondering."

Kagome reached up and ran her fingers through Inuyasha's hair. He moved a little to kiss her and rested one of his hands on her hip. "Inuyasha" Kagome took in a deep breath as he kissed lightly along her neck. "Inuyasha, Shippo is right over there."

"I know." He mumbled in-between his kisses. "Otherwise my hand would be more places then your hip." He gave her one last passionate kiss before closing his eyes and going to sleep.

Kagome didn't fall asleep as quickly as he did. She snuggled in closer, but Inuyasha's question kept running through her mind would you say yes' _Would I?_ she kept asking herself.

****

Morning came quickly and after a wonderful breakfast Mai and her family showed them the path that Kohaku was last seen on. "Thank you, for everything." Kagome said giving the small family one last hug.

"Take care of yourself Kagome." The elder man said.

They all walked away in silence.

In fact nobody talked till it was lunchtime and Kagome started to cook some food. "It will be ready in a few seconds." She said.

"D-Do you think we'll visit that village again?" Shippo asked.

"Maybe on our way back." Inuyasha said while stretching out on the grass.

Kagome served him a bowl of homemade vegetable soup. "Here you go." She kissed his cheek and set it down next to him.

"Thanks."

"Hey Inuyasha," Sango said after taking in some of her soup. "Why do you let your hair get so long?"

"What?"

"Your hair is longer then Kagome's. Haven't you ever gotten it cut."

"No."

"Why?"

"I like it long."

"So do I." Kagome ran her finger through it. "If you ever got it cut, I would have to blow on the dog whistle till it grew back." She held up her dog whistle.

"Funny." Inuyasha said sarcastically.

Suddenly Kagome's face when from happy to confused. Something was missing. She felt around her neck and under the collar of her shirt then screamed.

"What!" Inuyasha yelled out, covering his ears.

"The jewel, it's gone!"

"Where is it!" Miroku pulled down the collar of her shirt to make sure she wasn't just overlooking it.

"I don't know it just gone!"

****

I was worried that I was losing my cliffy-writing-ability. : ) Last night I thought of the most evil cliffy in the whole world, but don't worry, it won't happen for a few more chapters.

I want 12 reviews.

Lots of love DayDreamer62386


	33. What's Most Important To Inuyasha

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha

****

Notes to my reviewers: I just started school again, so there might be longer breaks inbetween my chapters. But don't worry, I'll still be sure to post them (I'm won't just stop).

DemonKitty: Sorry, but somebody asked me first. If you want you can be the baby's godsister.

PRSNR24601-FFICsimone: (wow that's a long name) In a little while I'm going to fast forward time a little bit, probably within the next chapter, so heads up.

Eekolie: I tried your dance with the new dance steps and I didn't get hurt (I'm a little proud of myself). I took a trip to Mexico a little while ago and saw an underwater geyser, that's where I got the idea. I hope you survive the hurricane.

Sirshapechanger: Did I really I feel so special.

Akihanah: My evil cliffie is nothing compared to this one.

****

Chapter Thirty Three: What's Most Important To Inuyasha

"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled, "How could you lose it!"

Kagome was trying her best to hold back tears. Not only was she angry with herself, but Inuyasha seemed mad as hell. Instead of fighting with him, she closed her eyes and concentrated on feeling' where it was.

"It's back at the village." She mumbled.

"Are you sure!"

"Yes."

Inuyasha turned to face Sango and Miroku; "You guys stay here with Shippo. Kagome and I will get the jewel."

The two of them nodded. Inuyasha grabbed Kagome's hand tightly and pulled her in the direction of the village.

"Poor Kagome. She probably feels guilty." Sango said as Inuyasha and Kagome disappeared.

"Yeah. Inuyasha looked really mad." Shippo said.

Miroku sat down next to Shippo. "Of course he was. If you made a list of all the things important to Inuyasha, first would be Kagome and the jewel. Then comes Ramen. Then us."

"We're number three?"

"Yeah."

"That sucks."

"Wait," Sango looked at Miroku, "which is more important, Kagome or the jewel."

"As long as I've know him, I figured he's always held the two equal in his mind."

"That seems wrong." Sango sighed. "Kagome should be the one, most, important thing to him."

"I know," Miroku said. "I'm just worried Inuyasha will realize that a little too late."

The were silent for a little while till Miroku spoke, "Shippo. Out of the three of us, you've know Kagome the longest, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Has she ever, simply lost the jewel before?"

"N-No. People have taken it form her before, but I don't think she's ever lost it."

Miroku turned to Sango, "So you think that, maybe, some could have stolen it while we were in the village."

****

Inuyasha pulled Kagome at a quicker pace then she could keep up with. She kept shouting at him to slow down, but he wouldn't listen. Eventually the inevitable happened, her own two feet feel from beneath her and she landed hard on her lower back.

Inuyasha had meant to catch her, but he didn't turn around in time. He started feeling guilty when she started crying from the pain so he bent down to help her up.

"Are you alright?" his voice was a lot softer then before, but Kagome didn't care. She reached up and slapped his as hard as she could.

"You're an asshole." She pushed his hands away when he tried to help her up and stood up on her own. It was painful, but she managed.

"Kagome, you're -"

"You know" She completely ignored the fact that he had been talking, "you're a real piece of work Inuyasha. You have a terrible temper, going around yelling at people all the time then you still wonder why I won't marry you." As soon as those words left her lips she regretted them.

Inuyasha stared wide-eyed at Kagome _Does she really feel that way_ he asked himself. He wanted, desperately to hold Kagome in his arms and say sorry, but when he reached out to touch her, she slapped his hand away.

Obviously she didn't want to be touched. After she slapped his hand, she continued walking. Despite the fact that she was hurt, she managed to stay ahead of him.

"K-Kagome." Inuyasha quietly spoke while staying only a few steps behind her, "Is that the reason you won't merry me, my temper."

Kagome sighed. "No. I guess not. You've been acting a lot nicer since I've met you."

"Really?"

"Yeah." She stopped walking. "Sorry I said that was the reason I wouldn't marry you, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha moved a little so that he was standing next to her. "Sorry I made you fall. Do you want me to carry you?"

Kagome smiled and nodded. Her lower back really did hurt. "Thanks."

"So." He started talking once Kagome was safely on his back. "I've been thinking about boy names."

"Really. What do you have so far."

"Well" Inuyasha was worried now, wondering if Kagome would think his names were stupid. " I was thinking about Ginsenshi."

"Ginsenshi." Kagome whispered the name to herself to see how it would sound, "I like it."

Inuyasha let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding. "We should get to the village pretty soon." He said. "Do you know where you set the jewel down?"

Kagome tried to think back. "Mai took the necklace off me when we took a bath, but I put it down beside my cloths."

"Don't you usually wear the jewel when you bath?"

"Normally. But Mai was took it off, and I didn't want it too look suspicious."

Inuyasha shook his head. "Wait" he said suddenly, "When you came back to the house you weren't wearing your cloths. You had a brown robe."

"Oh yeah." Kagome remembered. "Mai's mother took all of our cloths so that she could wash them, but she handed the back to me a few hours later. I guess I didn't notice that she didn't give me the jewel because I was so concerned about you."

"Me. Why were you concerned about me? I wasn't hurt or anything." Inuyasha shifted Kagome on his back a little bit.

"Whenever your feelings are hurt you get this really sad look in your eyes."

"I do?"

"Yeah. And it breaks my heart every time."

Inuyasha had no idea that he got a sad look in his eyes. Though he couldn't really look at his own eyes. All he knew was that if it was even half as pitiful as the sad look Kagome got when she cried, it must be pretty bad.

"S-So you think that Mai's mother took the jewel."

"I guess, but I hope it's not true." Kagome sighed, "They were really nice."

"Maybe it was all a cover up." Inuyasha growled. He was angry with himself for being so trusting.

****

It didn't take them very long to get to the village. Kagome slid off of Inuyasha's back and walked to the house Mai lived in. "Is anyone here?" she called in through the doorway.

Mai walked over to it. "Kagome! I thought you were gone." She said happily.

"Mai." Kagome bent down to her level. "Do you remember the necklace I had. The one with a pink jewel on it."

Mai nodded.

"Mai, I want you to tell me the truth. Do you have my necklace?"

Mai looked up at Inuyasha then shook her head.

"Do you know where it is?" Kagome asked, still calm. She didn't want Mai to think she was in trouble.

"Y-Yes."

"Where?" Inuyasha asked. He didn't sound angry, but his tone scared Mai a little.

"I-I don't have it." She mumbled.

"Mai." Kagome smiled and stroked the girl's hair; "It is a really important necklace to me. I need it back."

Mai leaned in a little bit and whispered in Kagome's ear, "I promised I wouldn't tell."

Kagome sighed; she didn't know what to do. She couldn't just tell the child to break a promise. She leaned back on her heels and tried to find a way around this problem. "Who did you make the promise too."

"My mommy."

"And where is your mommy?"

"She went to the field behind our house." Mai said.

Kagome gave Mai a big hug, "Thanks."

With that, Kagome stood up and walked to the field that Mai had talked about. Inuyasha was on her heels. "What are we doing?"

"Mai said her mother is in the field. She must have it." Kagome said while walking at a quick pace. She could feel the jewel; they were getting closer to it.

Kagome spotted Mai's mother sitting down in the grass inspecting something in her hand. "Excuse me." Kagome said quietly, taking a few steps closer to her.

The woman turned her head and faced Kagome. "Oh, I should have know you'd be coming back. You want this." She held out the jewel.

"Yes." Kagome tried to reach for it, but Mai's mother pulled it away.

"You know, not many people in this village would have recognized this." She said gazing at the jewel in her hand. "Long before I met my husband and moved here, I met Kikyo."

Inuyasha flinched a little bit, but didn't interrupt her.

"You look just like her. That's one of the reason I let you stay with us." The woman looked directly at Kagome. "Anyway. When I was a little girl, I lived in the same village as Kikyo. I remember her telling me about the jewel and it's powers."

Kagome moved her hand quickly and grabbed the jewel away. Inuyasha's mouth dropped open, even he wouldn't have been able to react to that and he was part demon. The woman tried to get it back but Kagome made sure it was out of her reach.

"I need it." The woman said desperately.

"No you don't. Nobody needs the jewel, they just want it."

"I-I need it. I want to bring my son back." Her voice was quiet. She almost sounded helpless.

Inuyasha stood a few feet away. He knew that there was really nothing he could do.

Kagome started walk away, but the woman grabbed her arm. "Please, just let me use the jewel, then you can have it back."

Inuyasha watched at Kagome leaned down and whispered in her ear. He had no idea what she was saying, but whatever it was it worked. The woman let go of Kagome's arm and sat quietly in the grass.

"Lets go Inuyasha." Kagome said. "The others should be happy that we have it back." She placed the necklace around her neck and leapt onto Inuyasha's back.

As they walked out of the village Inuyasha asked Kagome "What did you say to that woman when she grabbed you?"

"Does it make a difference?"

"No. I was just wondering."

"I told her that Sango want's her brother back and you want to be full demon. I would gladly lend you guys the jewel, but everyone I know who has used the jewel ends up very unhappy."

"I won't end up unhappy." Inuyasha whispered to himself.

"What?" Kagome said.

"N-Nothing."

Kagome looked up at the sky. It would be time for dinner soon, _We wasted a whole day_ she thought angrily to herself. Then she remembered something, "Inuyasha"

"What?"

"Aren't you human tonight."

Inuyasha thought about it for a second, "Yeah. How'd you know."

"If you're human tonight it marks my fifth month."

Inuyasha stopped walking for a second and moved Kagome so that he was carrying her bridal style instead of his back. Kagome laughed at this reaction, but didn't complain. When he carried her like this she was able to look up into his amber colored eyes.

****

Inuyasha cradled Kagome in his arms as she slept. Her lower back was still a little sore, so she didn't want to sleep on the ground. His hair had turned black a while ago. But now he had nothing to do, so he just leaned against a tree while Miroku and Sango talked.

He almost zoned out a little till Miroku turned his attention to Inuyasha. "Inuyasha. Sango and I were wondering something"

"What?"

"Which is most important to you," Sango asked. "Kagome or the jewel?"

"What!"

"Which one is more important?"

****

Yay. I was worried that I would never finish this chapter. Change of plans. Due to a name change, the baby's godfather is now _AznPiro_ : ) Also, _DemonKitty_ is the baby's godsister. (This kid will have an entire godfamily by the time the story is over.)

Everyone go out and read _Captured Moon's_ story. It's called Date. You guys will really like it and I think it will make her feel better about starting school. When you review tell her DD62386 sent you. : )

I want seven reviews

Lots of love DadDreamer62386


	34. The Light From Another Fire

****

Disclaimer: Inuyasha own don't I

****

Notes to my reviewers: OMG sorry you guys, I made a big mistake. I'm making Mai the granddaughter not the daughter. Sorry. My bad.

Captured Moon: When you didn't review chapter 32 I assumed it meant you didn't like me anymore and you were boycotting my story. J.K. I actually figured someone had you tied in a closet somewhere. (who could possibly turn down a bowl of never ending Ramen.) I wonder if the Top Ramen Company makes any money off of Inuyasha. Ouch, I have a head acheme — need — Excedrin —

Kcm-gamer-dude1234: mmm

Eekolie: ::crosses fingers:: here's hoping you live through hurricane ivan.

Akihanah: That sounds good. You can be the baby's guardian angel. You're not the first to call me evil and I know for a fact that you won't be the last. ::giggles::

Inufreak831: So many questions, let's see if I can answer them. They're going to find Kohaku pretty soon, but I can't tell you exactly when. Yeah, Kagome is gonna try and sneak the jewels out of Kikyo's castle. I'm assuming Kikyo can merge the shards together. I loved the names you gave me from the minute I read them. Thanks for letting me use them. : )

****

Chapter Thirty Four: The Light from Another Fire

Inuyasha's mouth dropped open, "W-What kind of question is that!" he said, adding volume to his voice while still making sure Kagome didn't wake up.

"We were just wondering." Miroku held up his hands. "You prize both of those things so dearly."

"Kagome isn't a thing — she a human." Inuyasha said looking down at Kagome's face.

"So Kagome is more important to you, right."

Inuyasha looked at Sango and Miroku. "Tell me something. What do you gain from knowing which one I value more?"

"Kagome is our friend." Sango said sternly, "I don't want her to get hurt."

"I'm not gonna hurt her."

"You've done it before without realizing it." The others pointed out.

Inuyasha looked down at Kagome, then stood up. "I'll be right back." He said. Without waiting for their response, he walked away.

"Miroku." Sango scooted a little closer to him.

"What?"

"Am I the most important thing to you?"

Miroku looked down at Sango's face, "Of course." He leaned in to kiss her.

****

Inuyasha looked around for a little while and found a spot to sit down. It was a grassy area with enough trees to hide them, but enough open space to walk around.

__

Why didn't we make camp here? he asked himself, but brushed that thought away and set Kagome down on the ground.

Noticing that Inuyasha's arms weren't around her anymore, Kagome stirred awake. She opened her eyes slowly expecting to see the camp, but was surprised to see that she wasn't in it anymore. She sat up quickly and turned to come face to face with Inuyasha's beautiful brown human eyes.

"I-Inuyasha. Where are we?"

"Not that far from camp." He said. "I wanted to talk to you."

Kagome rubbed the sleepiness out of her eyes. "What about?" she leaned against him.

Inuyasha wrapped his arm around Kagome's waist. "Is just something that Sango and Miroku asked, bothered me a little bit."

She moved her head and looked up into Inuyasha's eyes. He did look upset about something, but she couldn't tell what it was. "Inuyasha." She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair. "What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing. It's just they asked me which was more important to me. You or the jewel."

Kagome took the jewel out from under her collar and looked down at it. She always knew the jewel was important to him, but she never bothered to think about whether it was more important then her. It always seemed like an unnecessary worry. If she weren't as important as the jewel now, then she never would be. No point in worrying about it. As long as Inuyasha loved her she was happy.

"Kagome." He pulled her onto his lap. "You are much more important then the jewel. I've always thought that and I always will." He tucked the jewel back into her shirt and hugged her closely. "Anyone who can't see that must be blind."

"Inuyasha." She mumbled into his chest. Deep down she had already know that, but it was nice to hear it every once and a while.

She nuzzled his neck a little and snuggled in as close to him as she could. Inuyasha smiled at her reaction and bent down so he could kiss her. Kagome met his kiss and opened her mouth so his tongue could enter.

Inuyasha moved her so that she was lying on the grass then moved over her body, holding himself up by his elbows so that he wouldn't crush her. He kissed softly along her neck and collarbone while one hand slowly moved under her shirt to massage one of her breast.

Kagome let out a moan. She ran her fingers through Inuyasha's black hair and bent her legs a little causing him to harden. He wanted to do this more then anything, but something in the back of him mind stopped him.

He sighed then pushed himself off of Kagome. "I-Inuyasha. Why'd you stop." Kagome sat up and looked at him.

He sat beside her, closed his eyes, and waited till he had control over his body again before answering her. With one hand, he reached over and rubbed her stomach. "I don't want to do anything that would hurt the baby."

Kagome smiled. "You won't."

He kissed her cheek and helped her to her feet. "I don't want to risk it. Besides, the others will be wondering where we are."

Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's hand and squeezed it tightly. "I love you Inuyasha." She said in a tone barely above a whisper.

"I love you too."

****

They're journey to find Kohaku started taking a sour note. Apparently they were on his trail. Every village they went to ended up telling them the same thing. He was here, but he left.' Sometimes they missed him by a few days and sometimes a month.

It also wasn't helping everyone's mood when Inuyasha started yelling. Kagome was already seven months pregnant and he wanted her to stop traveling and take a break. Even if it meant staying in her time, but she simply refused.

Kagome had made up her mind a while ago. Regardless of whether or not they had found Kohaku she would go back to Kaede's house when she was in her eighth month. Inuyasha and her decided that it would be smart for her to give birth in her time. Kagome would say new kinds of medicine, machines, and pain killers.'

The others didn't argue that much. It seemed logical to them. But the farther away from Kaede's village they got, the more worried and upset Inuyasha became.

Now, after one of Kagome's (hormone driven) fights with Inuyasha they all ate their dinner in silence. Shippo seemed to be the only one who wasn't uncomfortable. He chewed on his food contently.

"This is yummy, thanks for cooking Sango."

Sango smiled. "Anytime Shippo."

Kagome had happily eaten all of hers, plus what was left over. Inuyasha laughed every time she ate more then usual. He never saw Kagome as the, stuff-yourself-type. "Did you enjoy the food, Kagome?" he asked in a too polite voice that told her he was laughing on the inside.

Sango and Miroku both waited for Kagome to scream at him, but instead she just laughed and lifted up her nose a little to look like a pig. They all laughed for a little while, before Kagome's smile faded.

"Is something wrong?" Sango asked.

Kagome moved her hand so it fell over her swollen stomach. "It hurts when the baby kicks. It's definitely Inuyasha's child." She smiled.

"Let me feel!" Shippo jumped up from his spot and placed his hand where Kagome's was. He stood still, waiting, for a while till he pulled his hand back in surprise. "I felt it Kagome."

"Good." She smiled at him.

Shippo moved back to his spot, but kept starring at Kagome's stomach with a serious look on his face.

"Is something wrong Shippo?" Kagome asked.

"I was just wondering how'd the baby get there?"

The others stiffened and looked between Shippo and Kagome nervously, but Kagome just laughed. "Inuyasha put it there."

That confused Shippo even more. "H-How he do that."

Kagome looked down at Shippo. He was really young when his parents died, so nobody was around to teach him (even the basic) facts of life'.

She let out a sigh. "Come on Shippo." She stood up and motioned for him to follow her. "You and I are going to have a talk."

Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku watched Kagome walk off with Shippo. "Hmm I feel a little guilty." Miroku said.

"Why?" Sango looked at him.

"I always figured Inuyasha or I would have the talk' with him. After all, we're the guys."

Sango rolled her eyes. "Kagome has been like a mom to him. Nobody's better then her."

"Whatever." Inuyasha mumbled and laid down on the grass. "As long as it's not me." he hated the idea of talking to Shippo about that stuff. After all, he had to learn it on his own, why couldn't Shippo.

Kagome and Shippo showed up at the camp just after the sun went down. Kagome smiled at the others in a way that told them, Don't worry, everything went fine.' Then she grabbed her towel and a change of cloths. "I'm going to take a bath." She said.

"I'll come with you." Sango started to stand up.

"No!" Kagome said instantly then walked off.

Sango sat back down and rested her head on her hand. "Kagome shouldn't be embarrassed." She mumbled when Kagome was gone.

Kagome didn't let anybody, including Inuyasha, see her change and she always bathed alone ever since she started showing. Unlike what Sango thought, she wasn't embarrassed at all (or at least she wouldn't admit it). She just didn't want everyone to see her morphed body.

Inuyasha would always say stuff like, "I don't care, you're beautiful anyway." or "I didn't fall in love with your looks alone, I love _you_." But it was no good. Kagome wouldn't listen to him.

She kept her bath short, the less time she was nude, the better. It wasn't till Kagome had dried off and dressed in her pajamas that she realized she had forgotten the way back to camp.

"Oh no." she mumbled to herself. She walked around for a while trying to find her way back to camp. She almost tripped a couple of times, but she never lost her balance.

She became more and more nervous when every tree and rock started to look the same. With little light to guide her, she was having a hard time telling where she had been and where she hadn't. _I could be walking in circles and not even know it._ She thought to herself.

After giving up hope, Kagome sat on the ground and wrapped her arms around herself. She hated being lost, she always felt so vulnerable. "Inuyasha!" she yelled out as she tried to hold back her tears.

Suddenly something caught her attention. It was the light from a campfire. Kagome smiled and stood up. "Inuyasha." She called out again. She started walking towards the fire. At first she walked slowly, but she wanted to be in Inuyasha's arms again, so her paced quickened.

When she was in the full light of the campfire she smiled and looked around for Inuyasha. But he wasn't there. It only took her a few seconds to grasp the fact that she had walked into the wrong campsite.

****

Inuyasha leaned against a tree as he waited for Kagome to get back. He and Sango were the only ones still awake. "I wonder what's taking her so long." Sango said as she looked at the dying embers.

Inuyasha's ears perked a little when he heard something. It sounded like Kagome, but he couldn't really tell. "Did you hear that?" he asked Sango.

"Hear what?"

He shook his head. "Never mind."

__

It couldn't have been Kagome he thought_ the river isn't that far away._ He looked down at the embers, then it hit him.

"Shit!" he yelled out and stood up.

"What's wrong?" Sango asked.

"I think Kagome's lost."

"What do you know!" she stood up.

"The fire died down. She probably couldn't find her way back." He started to walk off towards the river. Either he would happily find her safe and sound there, or he would have to end up sniffing around for her.

Sango started to follow him. "No. Stay here." he said. "I'll be right back."

****

This is likemy first successful fanfic story. Is it normal for someone's first story to be thirty four chapters long or am I just a freak of nature.

****

Question: _If you could be any animal, what animal would you be?_

I'm tired. I think I'll go to sleep now. By the time I wake up, I want to find 9 reviews waiting for me.

Lots of LoveDayDreamer62386


	35. Lost and Found

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha and Inuyasha don't own me.

****

Notes to my reviewers: If I could be an animal I would be a butterfly. This chapter was kinnda hard to write, so sorry it took so long.

Spike of Doom: Thanks. It's nice to know that somebody thinks I'm talented.

Green Glitter Haruko: When I started writing this story I wasn't 100 sure how to spell Kirara's name. And by the time I learned it, I had fallen into the habit of not mentioning her. Sorry.

Alex: Ok.

Golden-eyed-viper: Wow. That is a good idea, to bad it doesn't fit with my plan. I don't think it's stupid at all.

Inufreak831: It depresses me when I disappoint you sorry : (

MeBeIsh: Sure, why the hell not. Half dog demons count.

Captured Moon: Won't be as long! That was the longest review I got! You actually gave me a really good idea for this story, but there's a big problem if I used it my story would end up being another forty chapters long. Maybe I should just save if for a sequel or something. Y-You're joking about the cross dresser thing right.

Commitmentette: If I had a million dollars to spend on whatever I want, I wouldn't be able to decide on just one thing. I would most likely buy a really nice car then go on a shopping spree at the mall.

Inulova4lyfe: I ask because I care.

WolfsSora: Quack quack quack.

Eekolie: If I were a dog demon, I would want to have the ears. The stripes are cool, but the ears are way too cute to pass up.

****

Chapter Thirty Five: Lost and Found

"Damn it." Inuyasha mumbled out loud when he reached the river and noticed that Kagome had indeed left. He sniffed the air and followed her scent for a while. _She's not gonna take a bath alone again_ he thought to himself_ I don't care how much she protest._

Inuyasha was a little impressed with how far she had gotten. Her scent was fresh, so he could tell that she hadn't left the river that long ago. He kept walking, farther then he thought he would have to, until he saw a figure in the distance illuminated by the light of a small fire. He could tell it was Kagome, but he didn't know what the fire was from.

__

Must be another camp he thought, then became suddenly worried. His Kagome might be in trouble.

He tried to reach her in time, but he wasn't quick enough. Kagome stepped into the camp.

****

Kagome looked around for Inuyasha and the others, but didn't see them. _Am I in the right camp_ she asked herself.

"W-Who are you?" She almost jumped when she heard a voice behind her. Without meaning to, Kagome had walked right past whoever was using the camp. She turned around slowly, but screamed in delight when she saw who it was.

"Kohaku! We've been looking all over for you!"

"Kagome?" Kohaku stood up, "You're," his eyes glanced down to her stomach and back, "as big as a cow!"

Kagome smiled at his sense of humor and hugged him; "Sango is going to be so happy to see you." She said once she pulled away from him. His smiled faded a little bit, but he still kept it on. Kagome was about to ask him what was wrong, when Inuyasha jumped down from the tree.

He landed inbetween the two of them with his back facing Kohaku. "Kagome, are you ok?"

She nodded.

"Good. Come on, I'll take you back to camp."

"Umm I don't know if you've noticed, but there's someone else here." She pointed behind him.

Inuyasha looked at her curiously then turned and camp face to face with Kohaku. "Bout time." He said with a smirk on his face. "I was wondering when we'd find you."

"How long have you guys been looking for me?"

"I think," Kagome tried doing the math in her head, "around three or four months."

"Come on." Inuyasha started to lead the two away from Kohaku's camp. "You can stay at our camp tonight."

Kagome and Kohaku stayed a few steps behind Inuyasha. Kagome glanced down at Kohaku every now and then, not really believing that they had actually found him. "I'm so glad we found you Kohaku." She put her arm around his shoulder.

"Thanks."

Kagome noticed that he seemed a little depressed. "I-Is something wrong?" she asked him.

He looked up at her for a few seconds, like he was going to tell her something important, but then decided against it. "No. I'm fine."

Inuyasha glanced over his shoulder at the kid. He had a look on his face that reminded him of something. _I think I've felt whatever feeling he's feeling right now._ He thought, hardly understanding the meaning of his own words.

Something in Kohaku's face reminded him of when he was little.

They all reached camp to find Sango asleep next to Miroku. "Do you think we should wake her up?" Kagome said.

"No. Kohaku will be a nice surprise for her in the morning."

Kohaku looked around at everyone, "Why is Sango sleeping so close to Miroku?"

"They're getting married soon." Kagome said, "You and Sango will have a lot of catching up to do."

"Married?"

"Yeah."

Inuyasha looked down and saw Shippo's eyes move under his eyelids. "We should all go to sleep." He said. "Before we wake someone up."

"W-Where will I sleep?" Kohaku asked.

"Use that bed." Inuyasha pointed to the sleeping bag that Kagome usually used.

Inuyasha and Kagome both waited until Kohaku was asleep before they worried about themselves. "You gave away my bed." was the only thing Kagome could think to say, she hated standing in complete silence.

"Come here." Inuyasha grabbed Kagome, sat down (leaning against a tree) and pulled Kagome into his lap.

She rested her head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat for a little while before saying, "I guess you really are the most comfortable bed I've ever had."

"Gee, thanks." Inuyasha said sarcastically.

She nuzzled her head in his neck so that his silver hair covered her face. "You know what Inuyasha"

"What?"

"Kohaku reminds me of you, when I first met you."

"What do you mean?"

"He has that same, sad, look in his eyes that you did when I first met you."

Inuyasha thought about it for a few minutes then said, "I think I know what's wrong."

"What?"

"If Kohaku knew who we were, then that means his memories are probably back. Including the ones of him killing his family and friends."

Kagome leaned more into Inuyasha's chest. He was probably right. "What should we do?"

"There really is nothing we can other then lend a kind ear and a helping shoulder to cry on when he needs it. He'll have to get over the pain in his own way."

"But"

Inuyasha wrapped one arm around Kagome and rested his other hand on her swollen stomach. "You should get some sleep."

Kagome would have argued but she was a little tired. She listened to Inuyasha's heartbeat for a little while before drifting off to sleep.

****

Neither Inuyasha nor Kagome were surprised when they woke up to the sound of Sango screaming. Miroku and Shippo, whom had no idea what was going on, instantly jumped up ready to fight.

"Kohaku!" Sango screamed out again and wrapped her arms around the, still sleepy, child.

"Morning Sango." He laughed.

"Where did you come from?"

"S-Sango, I can't breathe."

Sango released her grip on him and sat down to his level. "When did you get here?"

"Kagome found me last night, then she and Inuyasha took me back here."

Sango smiled at Inuyasha and Kagome. After putting up with Sango's happy screams Kagome snuggled back into Inuyasha and fell asleep, she was still a little tired.

Sango laughed at the way her friend fell asleep. How could she sleep at a time like this, Kohaku was back, and he seemed to have his memories back too. "Come on." Sango pulled on his arm. "Let's let Kagome sleep."

Kohaku and Sango both stood and walked out of the camp. Sango wanted to spend the morning talking with her little brother. Shippo tried to follow them, but Miroku grabbed his tail.

"Let go Miroku."

"No. Let Sango spend some time alone with Kohaku."

Shippo sat down with his arms crossed.

"I'll just get started on breakfast." Miroku said.

"NO!" Inuyasha and Shippo both screamed out at the same time.

Miroku looked at the two of them. "My cooking isn't that bad, is it?"

"Yes." Shippo said.

"Well what do you think we should do. Unless Inuyasha is willing to set Kagome down and cook the food himself -"

Inuyasha looked down at Kagome sleeping in his arms. She looked so comfortable and he didn't want to let her go, but he also didn't think that he would be able to stomach more of Miroku's food. "Fine." He growled a little bit.

He set Kagome down at gently as he possible could and started on breakfast.

****

Sango walked with her arm around Kohaku's shoulders. "I'm so glad your back with us Kohaku. I was worried we'd never find you."

"Really?"

"Yeah." She let go of his shoulders and grabbed onto his hand, "You and I really need to catch up."

She started to walk quickly towards the river that Kagome took a bath in last night. They both sat down and dipped their feet in the nice cold water. Even though it was morning, it was already warm outside.

"K-Kagome told me you are getting married." Kohaku broke the silence between them.

Sango smiled. "Yeah. Miroku and I are gonna get married."

"When?"

"Well, we were gonna get married as soon as Kagome got the full jewel, but that might change."

"What's the jewel?"

She had forgotten that her brother didn't know about it. "The jewel, the Shikon no Tama, has all kinds of powers. Kagome it the rightful guardian of it, I guess, but she broke it a while ago. So, we've been traveling around looking for parts of it."

"I thought you said you've been looking for me."

"We have been. Basically, we took a break from our search for the jewel to find you."

"Oh." Kohaku understood as well as he was going to about the jewel, but something else confused him "What did you mean when you said the your plans might change."

Sango glanced at her brother then looked down at the clear water. "Kagome already knows where the rest of jewel is. So we really don't have to look for it."

"She knows where it is?"

"Yeah."

"Why doesn't she get it then?"

Sango thought for a few seconds. "It's a really long story involving a girl named Kikyo. It comes down to the fact that she has to go get it in secret."

"Secret?"

"Yeah. She doesn't want Inuyasha to know."

"Why?"

"That's where the long story comes from. I don't think I would be able to explain it right. Personally, I think Kagome should just let us go with her. For protection."

Kohaku pulled his feet out of the water. "I see that Kagome's having a baby."

"Yeah. Inuyasha is the father. I am really hoping she has a girl, but **_she_** won't tell me."

Kohaku gave her a confused look, "S-She can tell?"

Sango tried her best to explain to Kohaku about Kagome, her era, and the way that doctors can tell if the baby is a boy or girl. " but she won't tell anyone if it's a boy or girl, even though she knows."

"That seems a little cruel."

"Tell me about it." Sango laughed. "So, I think you're completely caught up with what's going on with us. Has anything happened to you since you've been gone."

Kohaku closed his eyes and stretched out on the grass. "I got my memories back."

Sango smiled. "I know. That's good."

Kohaku didn't smile, he turned his head to one side so that (even though his eyes were closed) he wasn't facing Sango.

" Isn't it?" she asked.

Kohaku sat up and looked directly into Sango's eyes. "Sango," he said in a quieter voice, "My memories are back all of them."

Sango stifined a little when she heard this. She was hoping that he wouldn't have the memories of the time he killed his family and friends. "K-Kohaku. It wasn't your fault."

Kohaku sat up and brought his knees to his chest. "I sure feels like it."

Sango wrapped her arm around Kohaku's shoulders again. "Naraku was controlling you. It wasn't' your fault."

Kohaku stayed silent for a long time with his face buried in his arms. Sango tried to hold back tears as she waited for her little brother to speak. When he finally did lift his head back up she noticed lines on his face from tears going down them.

"Sango. I – I knew I was being controlled, but I didn't try to fight it. I just let Naraku use me. Isn't that just as bad as killing those people myself."

"No. You were scared. I would have been too. You did what you had to do to keep yourself safe."

Kohaku sighed and looked up at the sky. Sango could tell that he was tortured inside. "Don't worry." She said. "You'll be able to laugh again soon, I'm here for you."

****

Kagome opened her eyes when she noticed that the warmth of Inuyasha's body was missing. She sat up and watched him serve food to Miroku and Shippo before he turned around and glanced at her.

"Kagome. I didn't know you were up. Do you want some food?"

Kagome smiled and gladly took the plate from Inuyasha. "Where's Sango and Kohaku?" she asked when she noticed that they weren't at camp.

"They went off to talk." Miroku said. His hand started to reach over to grab seconds, but Inuyasha hit him with a wooden spoon.

"You can't have anymore food. All that's left is Sango and Kohaku's share, and Kagome gets dibs on seconds."

Kagome smiled. "You can have the seconds Miroku."

"Thanks." In a very immature gesture, Miroku stuck his tongue out at Inuyasha and grabbed more food.

Inuyasha growled, but didn't do anything more. He looked over at Kagome and noticed that she seemed troubled by something. "What's wrong Kagome."

"I just remembered something. Doesn't Kohaku have a jewel shard in his back."

"Yeah. Can't you sense it."

"No, my powers haven't been that strong lately."

"Why?" Shippo asked.

Kagome shrugged. "I guess some of my powers are getting transferred into the baby."

Inuyasha shook his head, "Wait, why did you bring up the jewel in Kohaku's back?"

"We need to make the jewel whole again, but I remember Sango saying that the jewel was his lifeline."

Inuyasha looked in the direction that Kohaku and Sango had walked off in. "What do you think we should do?"

****

I bet you guys are wondering why the word she' is bold, underlined, and italic. Well I got big big news. The word she' was the word that made my story 100,000 words long. ::balloons fall from the sky:: Yay! MY FIRST STORY IS ACTUALLY ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND WORDS LONG. I didn't think it would be possible.

My next goal is to get 1,000 reviews, but only you guys can control that. So let's start with ten. I want 10 reviews.

Lots of love DayDreamer62386


	36. Disliking A Village

****

Disclaimer

Game show host: This person does not own Inuyasha.

Contestant: _Ding _Who is DayDreamer62386?

Game show host: Correct.

****

Notes to my reviewers: why?

Ladyyuy: I do feel special.

Inufreak831: I don't know when, where, or how, but I felt like I had disappointed you (and only you) for some reason. The feeling is gone now though, your review made me happy. ::smile::

Chloe: Ha ha ha ha ha

Xio-4-eva: I would be Inuyasha (even though I'm a girl) I love his take-no-bullshit' attitude.

Light and death angel: Sorry, I tried, but I just didn't have the energy to make this chapter really long.

Captured Moon: Here's a new pillow ::Hands you a brand new pillow:: I love your idea! I might use it, as long as you promise not to sue me.

****

Chapter Thirty Six: Disliking a Village

__

Warning: This chapter is a little short, I've had a lot of homework taking up my time but better a short chapter then no chapter at all, right?

Sango walk with her little brother into the camp just as Kagome finished her food. She looked over and noticed that both their eyes were a little red and puffy, but she didn't question it. If she had been reunited with a long lost brother, she would probably cry too.

"Your food is in the pot." Inuyasha said, "Does anyone have a plan for today?"

Kagome stretched her arms and stood up. "I'm going to the river." She tried to walk, but Inuyasha grabbed her ankle.

"What for?"

Kagome frowned. "I don't need a caretaker."

Inuyasha sighed, he hated how short Kagome's temper was now that she was pregnant. "I was just wondering. Last time you got lost."

"To soak my feet, they're sore."

"Fine." He let go of the ankle and watched her leave.

"Inuyasha." Sango quickly hugged him from behind, "Thanks for finding Kohaku."

He shrugged and stood up. "It was Kagome who found him, I just brought him here." Inuyasha picked Shippo up by his tail and started to follow Kagome.

"Hey Inuyasha! Where are you taking me?" Shippo tried to wiggle out of Inuyasha's grip, but it didn't work.

"You and I are going to the river with Kagome."

"Why?"

"You ask to many questions."

It didn't take them that long to catch up with Kagome. When she saw them coming she slowed down and waited. "Inuyasha, I'm not going to get lost. It's day time."

"I know." He set Shippo down and kissed Kagome on the cheek. "I thought you could use some company."

Kagome gave him a look of disbelief.

"And," he whispered in her ear, "I figured Kohaku and Miroku could use some bonding time. They're gonna be brothers soon."

Kagome squeezed his arm and smiled. She loved how thoughtful he could be at times. "Inu, do you think you could carry me?" she put on a puppy dog face, but it was unnecessary. Inuyasha would have carried her even if she didn't use it.

He carried Kagome bridal style and Shippo sat on his head, till they all reached the river. "Ok Shippo." Inuyasha said, "You can stop using me as a free ride."

"But Kagome gets free rides."

"That's cause I like her more then you."

"Hey!"

Inuyasha laughed at Shippo's reaction then shook him off. Shippo smiled and ran to the river. He dipped his toe in then pulled off his shirt and jumped in.

Inuyasha set Kagome gently on the ground so she could place her, already naked, feet in the water. He looked down at them in the clear water. He could easily see that they were swollen and had a few blisters on them.

"Does it hurt to walk?" he asked.

"Some times." Kagome mumbled.

"You know, I don't mind carrying you. If your feet hurt you could just -"

"I know." Kagome didn't feel like hearing the whole I'll help you' speech. She knew that Inuyasha was there for her if she needed it.

She lifted her feet out of the water and looked at them sadly. Inuyasha grabbed one of them and rubbed it while watching Shippo swim.

"So" Inuyasha glanced down at her. "is the baby gonna be a girl?"

Kagome closed her eyes and leaned back into the grass, "I'm not telling."

"Is it a boy?"

She laughed at his persistence; "It's a surprise."

Inuyasha tried several times to get Kagome to tell him, but she wasn't falling for any of his tricks. "I bet you don't even know." He tried a different approach, "I bet you just want to act like you're smarter then me."

"I am smarter then you."

Inuyasha smirked and switched to her other foot. "Sure you are" he mumbled.

"What?" Kagome asked. She had heard him, but was enjoying their little battle of the brains.

"Nothing."

****

Sango glanced over at Miroku before sitting next to her brother. Kohaku was eating his foot happily. "Who cooked this?"

"I did." Miroku said instantly hoping to impress Kohaku and Sango with his cooking skills, but they didn't fall for it.

"This taste like Inuyasha's cooking to me." Sango said.

Miroku blushed a little bit before mumbling an apology.

Kohaku finished his food and set the plate down on the ground. "Miroku. After you marry my sister, we're gonna be brothers aren't we?"

"Yeah."

Kohaku looked down at his feet. Neither Miroku nor Sango could tell if the look on his face was disappointment or simply boredom. "Is it ok that I'm gonna marry Sango?" Miroku asked.

Kohaku looked back up at Miroku, "Yeah, my sister is happy with you."

Sango smiled and hugged her brother, "I'm going to check on the others." She said before leaving. She wanted Miroku and Kohaku to have a little bit of time to really get to know each other. After all, it was true that they would be brothers soon.

She walked down to the river when Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippo were. Kagome was still sitting by the river, but Inuyasha and Shippo both had their ears pressed to her stomach.

"I'm surprised that," Kagome said, "you aren't able to tell the gender Inuyasha. Can't most demons sense things like that."

"I'm only half demon." He reminded her, "And Shippo's to young to be able to tell. Why won't you just let us know?"

"Because I want you to be surprised."

"I still think it's going to be a girl." Sango said, making herself known.

Shippo shook his head, "I want it to be a boy."

"Why?" Kagome asked.

"Because then I'll have a little brother to play with."

All three of them looked down at Shippo. "Brother?" they all said at the same time.

Shippo slapped his forehead, he hadn't meant to say brother out loud. For a long time he had been thinking of Kagome as his mom and the baby as his little brother or sister. "S-Sorry." He mumbled.

"Sorry for what?" Inuyasha asked.

Shippo looked at the ground, wishing he could become invisible right now. Kagome sensed how uncomfortable he was and placed her hand on his back. "Shippo, do you want to be the baby's older brother?"

"C-Can I call you mom."

Kagome smiled, "Sure."

Shippo's face brightened up and he jumped into Kagome's arms. "Thanks mom." He loved being able to call Kagome that.

Inuyasha smiled at what was going on, then he suddenly realized something, "Sango, shouldn't you be with your brother."

"No. I gave Kohaku and Miroku some alone time. They should get to know each other."

"I guess your right."

Sango sat down on the ground in front of Kagome. "So, what should we do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Should we go back to Kaede's village."

"Yeah." Inuyasha said instantly. "Kagome makes me nervous."

"I do." She looked at him oddly.

"Yeah, what if something happened to you. We'd be so far away from Kaede's village and the well that we probably wouldn't be able to help you."

"You don't have to worry too much. This baby won't be coming from two more months." She glanced over at the mountains. "I think -" she tried to mentally measure the distance to them. "we should go to the nearest village and stock up on supplies before we leave."

Inuyasha sighed, "Fine."

Sango was the only one who noticed that she glanced over at the mountains when she spoke. It reminded her of the plan Kagome told her about. _Kagome isn't that stupid is she?_ she thought instantly. She knew that if Kagome left for the mountains alone while seven months pregnant, something bad could happen to her or to the baby.

She would have to talk with her before they got any closer to the mountains.

They all spend the rest of the morning relaxing. Shippo would play in the water, Sango would walk to camp and back every now and then to check on Miroku and Kohaku, and Inuyasha and Kagome just laid in the grass.

Kagome spent most of her time using Inuyasha's stomach as a pillow while he ran his fingers trough her hair (being careful with his claws).

They didn't start walking again till after lunch. Sango cooked this time. She made a little extra for Kagome, as usual, who ate it quickly, as usual. By watching her eat, anyone would think that the others were starving Kagome.

She ate like she knew that she wouldn't get another meal. "I'm just really hungry." She said whenever someone asked her about it.

It didn't take them very long to see the nearest village though. It came into their sight sometime around sunset. Sango and Kohaku sighed happily. They had all decided to use Miroku to do a exorcism' and get them a free room.

Deep down they knew it was wrong, but they each really wanted a bed to sleep on (pardon Inuyasha, who couldn't care less where he slept.)

"There is it." Shippo said. They were all on top of a hill, Kagome and Inuyasha looked down it and, just as Shippo had said, there was a small village.

"Thank god." Kagome said, "My feet were starting to hurt."

They continued to walk down the hill, but Kagome stopped when she realized that Inuyasha wasn't following them. "Inuyasha." She turned around and looked up at the top of the hill.

The others stopped and turned around too. Inuyasha was staring at the town below while sitting in the position that always reminded Kagome of a dog.

"Inuyasha, what's wrong?" Kagome asked.

"I'm not staying there." He mumbled.

"What?" Miroku said, "It's the nearest village. The next one it a three days walk."

Inuyasha sighed. "I don't care, I'm not staying there."

****

Let's see if I got this right

****

Godmother: Lizzy p.r.

****

Godfather: AznPiro

****

Godbrother: up for grabs

****

Godsister: up for grabs

****

Goduncle: up for grabs

****

Godauntie: DemonKitty (hold crap, you need to make up your mind)

****

Friend: Eekolie

****

Guardian Angel: Akihanah

So the position of godbrother, godsister, and goduncle is still open. First come first serve I guess. I want 6 reviews.

Lots of love DayDreamer62386


	37. Almost Learning The Gender Of The Baby

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

****

Notes to my reviewers: Wow! Five cups of coffee give DD62386 enough energy to write another chapter.

Light and death angel: You're half right. Yay! Gold fishes.

Inufreak831: Is my 'secret gender thing' driving you nuts? ::evil grin:: Then my job is done.

Alex:Okay. I updated and I filled this chapter with magical fairy dust.

KiLaLa, Kagome's Daughter: Wow, that was probably the most unselfish review I've ever gotten. Other then Inuyasha, my fav. anime is ... umm ... it used to be _Big O_, but that one ended so I guess it's _Detective Conan/Case Closed_. My worst subject is math (I can never understand it) and my best subject is Creative Writing (surprise surprise).

Spike of Doom: Hi.

Captured Moon: I've done that before, sat in class and started laughing. The Godfamily is really more of a side note (to make you and all my other reviewers feel loved). Yay! A chicken. I will keep it as a pet. (I wonder what her name should be.) Guess what... somebody actually requested that you be the Godsister, it's too bad the position was already filled.

Inuyasha's Priestess: Hmmm... I'm sure I could work you in somewhere.

Kayame and Her Ears: It's okay, thanks for remembering to review.

Demons-Heart: Good advice. Thanks.

****

Chapter Thirty Seven: Almost Learning the Gender of the Baby

:: where did I last leave off oh yeah, I remember. Okay, on with the story.::

Kagome looked up at Inuyasha, "What?"

"I don't like that village."

"Can you smell a demon in it or something?" Miroku asked.

Inuyasha shook his head. "Why don't you like it?" Kagome asked, placing her hand on his shoulder. She was a little worried about the look on his face. It seemed like a combination between sad and a little scared.

He shrugged. "Inuyasha, tell me." She whispered. If something was bothering him, she wanted to know about it.

"I-I'm just gonna stay here tonight." he mumbled and gently pushed Kagome's hand away.

"Inuyasha. We need to stock up on supplies before we go back to Kaede's village." Sango said, she wasn't the mood to camp out when they were so close to a village.

"I said I was gonna stay here' not you." Inuyasha said with a little more growl in his voice. "You guys can go ahead."

Miroku, Sango, and Shippo stared at Inuyasha for a few seconds then turned and started walking down the hill again. Kagome watched them leave.

"What are you still doing here?" Inuyasha's voice grabbed her attention. It was a lot calmer then when he talked to the others.

"I'm gonna stay with you."

Inuyasha let out a sigh, "No. You should go with them."

"What?"

"Go on." He nudged her arm a little bit, "Don't let me stop you from finding a comfortable bed."

"I already told you. You are the most comfortable bed I'll find anywhere."

Inuyasha chuckled to himself. "You'll be a lot safer in the village."

"Are you sure you want me to go?" Kagome wrapped her arms around his neck. She could still see that same look in his eyes, even though he tried to hide it.

Inuyasha leaned down a little and kissed Kagome. He licked her bottom lip waiting for her to open her mouth, which she did. He enjoyed the moment and wished it didn't pass as quickly as it did. "I'm sure." He said when they broke apart.

Kagome kissed his cheek and squeezed his hand before running of to catch Sango and the others. Inuyasha watched her leave and looked over at the nearest tree. He shook his head "I'm not ever setting foot in that stupid village." He mumbled before leaping onto one of the lower branches.

****

Miroku was able to talk the owner of an Inn into giving them two rooms to stay in for free (one for the girls and one for the boys) using his evil spirit' routine. But as they settled down and ate their dinner, Kagome kept rolling thoughts around in her mind.

They were so close to the mountains, and Kikyo's castle, that she could leave now and be back before morning. _I wouldn't even have to start a fight with Inuyasha_ she thought happily.

But then Kagome remembered the look he had on his face when she left him. She wanted to comfort him and find out what was wrong. _But _she argued with herself _when we get to Kaede's village, I'd be so far from the mountains my trip might take a week._

Her hand moved down to her stomach when she felt the baby kick. That little movement reminded her, that if she wen to Kikyo's castle she wouldn't be, simply, putting herself in danger. But also Inuyasha's unborn child.

"Kagome!" Sango snapped her fingers.

Kagome's head jerked up, "What?"

"We've been trying to get your attention for a while." Miroku said. "What were you thinking about."

"N-Nothing."

"Shippo has been asking you a question for a while"

Kagome looked down at Shippo. "What?"

"Can I sleep with you in the girls room tonight?" he asked hopefully.

"I told him it was ok with me." Sango told Kagome.

Kagome shook her head. "Sorry. I was going to go spend time with Inuyasha. He seemed depressed earlier."

Sango's eyes widened as Kagome stood up and grabbed her bag. "She wouldn't" she whispered to herself. She remembered earlier when Kagome had glanced up at the mountains, and wondered if she was actually planning on leaving.

Sango stood up and followed her outside. "Kagome, are you planning on going to Kikyo's castle?" she didn't see any point in beating around the bush.

Kagome stopped and turned to face Sango, "No, I've thought it through, and I'd rather comfort Inuyasha."

Sango grabbed Kagome's hand. "Tell me the truth."

"I am."

Sango bit her lip, "Then take Shippo with you."

"What!"

"If Shippo is with you, I won't have to worry about you going off into the mountains. You wouldn't take him with you."

"Sango. Don't worry. I just want to comfort my mate." Kagome smiled in a reassuring way. "Tell Shippo and Kohaku to sleep in the second room, that way you and Miroku can have some time to yourselfs."

She didn't say anything else after that. She just continued walking. Sango sighed, "I'll just have to trust her to be smart." She said out loud.

She walked back into the room and realized that all eyes were on her. "What?"

"Why did you chase after mom?" Shippo asked.

"I wanted to ask her something. Kohaku, you and Shippo are going to sleep in the other room. Ok."

Both the boys nodded and got up to leave. "Good night Sango." Shippo said. He gave her a hug and walked to the room across the hall.

Kohaku stayed in the room a few more minutes. "Sango."

"Yeah."

"I'm glad you getting married." He hugged her quickly and ran out of the room.

Sango laughed and closed the door. She sat down beside Miroku and finished up the little bit of food she still had on her plate. When her plate was completely empty she set in down on the floor.

"Did you like it?" Miroku asked.

"Yeah. Who made it."

"Well, Kagome and Inuyasha have been giving me pointers on how to cook."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I can't expect you to always cook for me and I can't expect you to suffer through my bad cooking."

Sango laughed and hugged Miroku. "You're so sweet."

"I try." Miroku grabbed Sango and pulled her into his lap. "I can't wait till we get back to Kaede's village."

"Why?"

"I have a surprise waiting for you there."

Sango's face lit up "Tell me."

"It's a surprise, I can't."

"Please" Sango kissed along his neck hoping that would get him to tell.

Miroku did his best impression of a strict conservative person. "Your silly little tricks won't work on me this time woman."

Sango moved so that she was facing him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You're really not gonna tell me."

"Nope."

Sango made a puppy face, but Miroku just leaned forward and kissed her. Sango was taken off guard and gasped, he took that opportunity to deepen the kiss.

Sango laughed when they pulled apart and rested her head on his chest. "Good night Miroku."

Miroku rubbed her back a little while she fell asleep.

****

Kagome walked carefully through the dark thinking about how she referred to herself as Inuyasha's mate. _I am his mate_ she thought _I probably made him feel bad when I said I wouldn't marry him. I basically already have._ She made a mental note to tell Inuyasha that later, but first she just wanted to find him.

She continued walking; using the light from the moon to guide her, till she found her way to the hill that Inuyasha was on.

He was sitting on the ground facing a fire with his back towards Kagome. She wasn't even sure that he knew she was there. He was poking the fire with a stick, but stopped and sniffed the air. "K-Kagome."

He turned around and saw her standing behind him. "How long have you been there." He quickly wiped his eyes, hoping that Kagome didn't notice. But she did.

"I just got here." She said.

"Do you want some rabbit meat?" he asked, holding up a plate full of cooked meat.

Kagome shook her head and sat down next to him. She could see that his eyes were a little red and that he had little streaks going down his cheeks from tears. "Inuyasha"

He turned his head away from her. "Didn't I tell you to stay with Miroku and Sango!" he said harshly, hoping Kagome wouldn't notice how bad he was feeling.

"I wanted to be with you."

"That's stupid!" he said, "You'll be safer in the village!"

Kagome wrapped an arm around Inuyasha's shoulders. "Inuyasha, you're my mate, so I should know why you're feel upset."

"Mate?" he looked at her. "I thought you hated that word."

Kagome shrugged. "No, I was just being stupid, I guess. I love you. Now tell me what's wrong?"

Inuyasha tensed up a little. "Nothing's wrong."

"Inuyasha, don't' try to fool your mate. What's wrong? Why don't you want to go into that village?"

"B-Because."

"Is there a demon in it?"

"No."

"Then tell me."

Inuyasha laid down on the ground, using his arms as a pillow. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Inuyasha. Please tell me." She ran her fingers through his hair.

He looked up at Kagome. He could tell by the look on her face, that she was really concerned. He hated making her feel bad. "I can't go into the village because it's where I lived when I was a child."

Kagome's hand stopped moving. She knew that Inuyasha had a terrible childhood. Seeing the village probably brought back a thousand bad memories for him. She bent down and hugged his as tightly as she could. "Inuyasha, I'm sorry. If you had just told me, I wouldn't have wanted to stay"

She pressed her face into Inuyasha shirt. He felt some tear drops on his shirt and knew that she was crying for him.

Kagome lifted herself off of him and smiled, "You should try an go to sleep. Okay."

Inuyasha nodded, but he didn't think he'd be able to fall asleep. Kagome noticed that and started rubbing his ears. He sighed and closed his eyes. When morning came they would be able to leave and he wouldn't have to come back there again.

Kagome listened to Inuyasha's steady breathing. She could tell he had fallen asleep, but she didn't stop rubbing his ears. The fire had died down before Kagome curled up beside Inuyasha and went to sleep too.

****

Inuyasha woke up to see big eyes only inches from his face. "What the hell." He yelled punching away whatever it was. He sat up and realized that it was Shippo, whom was now several feet away rubbing his head.

"That hurt." He complained.

"Sorry." Inuyasha grunted. He figured that Shippo shouldn't have been that close to him anyways.

He rubbed his eyes and looked around. Miroku, Kohaku, and Sango were both sitting on the ground not that far from him. "It's about time you woke up." Miroku said, usually you're a light sleeper.

"Whatever." Inuyasha mumbled. "Can we leave now?"

"Where's Kagome." Sango asked. "Didn't she come to see you last night." She said, growing a little concerned that Kagome might have lied to her.

Inuyasha looked around; "Where the hell is she." he hadn't even noticed that she was gone.

Almost to answer his question, Kagome walked over to them.

"Where were you?" Miroku asked.

"I went to get dressed." She said, "I wasn't' gone that long. Where'd you all come from?"

"After we got some supplies, we came up here to eat. But Inuyasha wants to leave now."

Kagome looked over at Inuyasha, knowing why he was so anxious to leave. "Yeah. I want to go too. We can eat breakfast on the road."

Everyone gave Kagome a strange look. Normally she would make sure everyone had eaten before they traveled. "Kagome, are you feeling okay?"

Kagome laughed, "I'm fine. I just want to go."

They started walking soon after that. Inuyasha carried Kagome because her feet were hurting, but other then that, nothing was out of the ordinary. They were all having those meaningless conversations that have no point other then entertainment.

Miroku was enjoying the glory of proving one of his points when Kagome suddenly slapped herself.

Everyone stopped walking and stared at her.

"Why'd you do that Kagome?" Inuyasha asked.

Kagome grabbed something from off her shoulder and held it up. "Myouga was biting me."

Inuyasha started down at the little flea and growled. "Where did you come from? Why did you bite Kagome?"

Myouga ignored Inuyasha's question and looked at Kagome. "I see you're expecting. Is it Inuyasha's pup?"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Duh."

"And I can tell by the taste of your blood that it's gonna be a -"

"No!" Kagome yelled out "Don't say it!"

"Why not?"

"It's gonna be a surprise."

Inuyasha growled. He was so close to knowing if the baby was gonna be a boy or a girl, but Myouga couldn't talk fast enough.

Miroku walked over and picked Myouga up. "We could use your help Myouga. Do you think you could answer a question."

Myouga jumped out of Kagome's hand and onto Miroku's shoulder. "Sure."

"Have you even heard of cutting off someone's life line, but them still living." Miroku asked, it was obvious to Sango that he was referring to Kohaku and the jewel. It made her smile.

Myouga sat down and crossed his arms to think about it for a little while. "Well, I do know one way."

"What?" Sango asked desperately.

"I'm not one hundred percent sure you'll want to know."

"Just tell us." Sango said impatiently.

****

My idea of heaven is watching all new episodes of Inuyasha in my pajamas while eating ice cream right out of the carton. :: sigh :: What's your idea of heaven?

Sorry to everyone who got turned down, but it really was a first come first serve kind of thing.

**Goduncle:** Sirsapechanger

**Godbrother:** Inufreak831

**Godsister:** ::Drum Roll:: Ladyyuy

I want 7 reviews. (I'm sure you guys can handle that.)

Lots of love DayDreamer62386


	38. Their First Night Apart

****

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

****

Notes to my reviewers:To many people have asked me, so I'll say it one last time. Kagome is not having twins, she is only haveing one baby: one, uno, ein !!!

Lizzy p.r.: I think everyone is a little desperate to know.

Captured Moon: Let me think... it was _KiLaLa, Kagome's Daughter_ who suggested you, but I'm having a hard time rememebering. If you want I can announce to my readers about the 'Ending of Inuyasha'. ::sigh:: I must be strong. But... I want to be surprised when it ends, so I won't tell you the baby's gender. ::sticks out tounge:: A better deal would have been... 'Tell me the gender of the baby and I won't tell you the ending of Inuyasha.'

Eekolie: OMG, I have such a bad craving for Orvilles Sweet & Buttery Popcore. I must eat some now or I might change into my demon form and kill (kinnda like what Inuyasha's does.)

Xio-4-eva: Don't worry, this chapter is not (and I repeat) is not, a cliffhanger

Bloomz-baby: Yes No Maybe

Shy-me-95: Whenever it is brought to my attention that someone is new to fanfic. I always give them 12 yellow flowers. Yellow flowers symbolize friendship. ::hands you 12 yellow flowers:: Enjoy.

****

Chapter Thirty Eight: Their First Night Apart

Kagome moved herself out of Inuyasha's arms and sat down on the ground. Everyone else followed her actions and sat down too; ready to listen to whatever Myouga had to say. "What do you mean, we won't want to hear it?" Sango said.

"Well," Myouga scratched his head, "I'm not sure that Lord Inuyasha would take it into consideration."

Everyone glanced up at Inuyasha, who glared at all of them (except Kagome). He didn't like it when people, even friends, stared at him for no reason.

"Just spit it out." Inuyasha mumbled.

"I know someone who has a special kind of sword that can revive people after they die." Myouga said.

Sango's face brightened, "Really." she couldn't have been happier about the news. "We could ask him for help."

"Why wouldn't Inuyasha like that?" Kagome asked.

"Because." Myouga looked cautiously at Inuyasha then back at Kagome. "The sword belongs to Lord Sesshomaru."

Inuyasha stiffened, "No."

"What?" Sango's smiled faded.

"We're not asking that ass for help." He stood up and started to walk away. Kagome looked over at Sango, whom seemed near tears, and slammed her fist into the ground.

"I'll talk to him." she mumbled "You guys say here."

She stood up and followed Inuyasha till she was sure they were both out of the other's earshot. "Inuyasha, you're such an asshole!" Kagome yelled out.

Inuyasha turned around sharply and stared at Kagome. "I'm not going to my brother for help." he responded in his 'oh-so-stubborn' tone.

Kagome made fist at her sides. She wasn't going to back down on this argument. "Of all people you should know how Sango is feeling! She doesn't want to lose her brother!"

"That's not the point!"

"Yes it is!" Kagome screamed. "Your brother could actually help us, but you won't go to him because you can't get over a stupid rivalry!"

"Kagome! Even if I was willing to go to Sesshomaru, do you think he would help us! No! He wouldn't, because he hates me and would rather die then help a human!"

"How do you know! You won't even ask him!"

"That's right!" Inuyasha yelled. "I won't! And I'm not going too! I don't care how much you blow that whistle!"

Kagome crossed her arms. "I thought you had become more mature then this!"

"You thought wrong!" Inuyasha yelled out before jumping off out of Kagome's sight.

She stomped her foot and cried out in frustration before making her way back to the camp. Everyone was staring at her when she arrived. "Where's Inuyasha?" Miroku asked.

"I don't know and I don't care." she sat down on the ground and tried to cool off from the argument she had.

"I didn't know you could yell so loud." Shippo said.

"You guys could hear me?"

"We could hear your voice along with Inuyasha's," Sango said, "but we couldn't hear what you were saying."

"Yes, what did you and Inuyasha talk - er - scream about?" Miroku asked.

Kagome sighed and stood up. "I saw a hot spring a little while ago. I think I'll go soak for a little while."

Sango nodded and, as soon as Kagome was gone, slapped Miroku on the back of he head.

"What was that for?" he asked while rubbing the spot that Sango had hit.

"Never ask a girl what she fought about with her boyfriend when she doesn't wan to talk about it. You'll just make her angry all over again."

"How was I supposed to know she didn't want to talk about it."

"You learn to read body language."

Miroku shook his head. "Whatever."

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Inuyasha sat high up in one of the trees trying to think of what he should do. He didn't want to have anything to do with his brother, but Sango was counting on him. He also wanted the jewel to be complete, not missing a shard. Plus Kagome was mad as hell right now. He couldn't remember ever seeing her as mad as she was today.

__

Stupid mood swings he thought, but deep down he knew it was his fault. "Inuyasha, you piece of shit you." he mumbled to himself.

He wanted to go back, say sorry to Kagome, and tell Sango that he would attempt to talk to Sesshomaru. But he knew that if he went back now... everyone would just yell at him.

__

Kagome probably turned them all against me he told himself. "Damn it." he slammed his head against the tree behind him. "I'm not going back, at least not tonight."

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Kagome stayed in the warm water till she was absolutely sure that she wasn't angry with Inuyasha anymore. "I wonder if he's still mad at me..." she said to herself while drying her hair. She knew that a huge fight wasn't necessary, but she didn't regret it at all. _Someone needed to knock some sense into him_ she thought.

She got dressed quickly and ran back to where the others were hoping to see Inuyasha sitting there with them. But she didn't.

"Are you okay Kagome?" Sango asked when she saw Kagome's eyes look around from Inuyasha.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just thought Inuyasha would be back by now. That's all." she sat down on the ground next to Kohaku and tried not to show the others that she was upset.

"Is it my fault you guys had a fight?" Kohaku asked.

Kagome looked at him. "No. Why?"

"Well, Inuyasha doesn't want to talk to ... Sesshomaru ... but you want him to because it will help me."

"That's not why we had a fight." Kagome smiled to reassure him. "We had a fight because Inuyasha was being stubborn."

"Big surprise." Shippo mumbled.

Kagome rested her head on her hand. "I thought Inuyasha had become more mature then all that. But I guess I was wrong."

Kohaku sighed. He still felt uneasy about it. Kagome looked at him through the corner of her eye and spoke softly. "Hey Kohaku, do you want to know what the baby will be?" she thought, maybe, that would cheer him up some.

Kohaku sat straight up and nodded. Miroku, Sango, and Shippo all leaned in so they could hear. Kagome laughed a little at the response she got from everyone, but leaned close to Kohaku's ear and whispered.

Miroku, Sango, and Shippo both groaned from disappointment. They were starting to get mad at Kagome's secretive' attitude. And it only made them feel worse now that she was giving the secret away to someone who didn't really care if he knew or not.

Kohaku laughed a little bit when Kagome pulled her head away again. "Promise not to tell anyone."

"Promise." He looked right into Sango's eyes then back to Kagome. "I can't wait for the baby to be born. I want to see the look on Sango's face."

Sango glanced at Miroku. "What's that supposed to mean?" she whispered.

Miroku shrugged.

"Should we wait for Inuyasha to get back?" Shippo asked.

Kagome nodded. However he felt right now. She didn't want to make him feel any worse by leaving him behind.

****

Inuyasha jumped from one tree branch to another in an attempt to kill time. He didn't realize how much he depended on his friends for entertainment. Without meaning to he landed in a tree not that far from where Kagome and the others were staying. He was about to leave when he noticed Kagome whispering something in Kohaku's ear.

"Kagome." He mumbled thinking that she was detailing the others about their fight.

He jumped off again hoping that none of them noticed him and found a nice place to stay. He stayed in his little spot as high up in the tallest tree as he could get, till the sun started going down.

He tried to go to sleep, but couldn't. Something was missing. "What's wrong." He said out loud looking around for something out of the ordinary. He sniffed the air a couple of times, but still didn't know what was amiss.

It actually didn't hit him till much later into the night _I don't have my Kagome._ he told himself. He looked down at his arms. Normally they would be wrapped around her. He sighed. They hadn't spent a single night apart in a long time.

For a few minutes he debated finding Kagome and snuggling in with her, but he eventually decided against it. "We'll just fight." He said. He drifted off to sleep but kept waking up.

While half asleep he would forget about the fight and wonder where Kagome was. A few times he woke up thinking she had fallen out of the tree and jumped down to catch her before realizing she wasn't there.

"It's gonna be a long night." He mumbled to himself.

****

... 

Kagome placed a hand over her stomach as she settled into her sleeping bag. The baby kept kicking. As if it knew something was wrong. She kept turning from side to side trying to find a comfortable position. But without Inuyasha there it wasn't the same.

She sat up and pushed her blanket aside. "Damn it." She whispered. She stood up and walked past the other as silently as she possibly could. She needed somewhere to sit for a little while, away from a bunch of sleeping bodies.

After a few minutes of walking she found a spot deeper in the woods. It was quiet, cool, and had fireflies everywhere. She sat down in the tall grass and stretched out. The baby seemed to settle down a little.

"Don't worry. Your daddy and I didn't break up. He's just being a jerk." She mumbled.

Her last thought before she drifted off to sleep was how upset the others would be to find her missing when they woke up. She actually laughed as she imagined the looks on their faces. "I don't care. If Inuyasha can leave without telling anyone where he's going, so can I." She said.

****

Inuyasha started running back to camp right after he woke up, for the millionth time. "Hey Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kohaku, Kag -" he looked around. "Kagome? Where's Kagome?"

The others looked around too. They hadn't noticed that Kagome was missing. "I wonder where she went." Miroku said out loud.

Sango crossed her fingers and hoped she hadn't headed for the mountains. Last night would have been the perfect time to do it.

Inuyasha asked with more determination. "Where is she?"

"I don't know, she must have left sometime last night." Kohaku said.

Inuyasha sniffed the air. Her sent was faint, but he was able to trace it. "She isn't that far away. I'll get her."

He walked off in the direction that Kagome's scent lead him.

"Thank god." Sango breathed a sigh of relief.

"What?" Miroku asked.

"I thought for a second that Kagome -" she remembered her promise. "N-Nothing."

Myouga jumped onto Sango's shoulder. "If you guys won't be needing me any longer, I'll take my leave." He announced.

"Whatever." Sango flicked him away as he started to drink her blood.

Inuyasha kept walking till he saw Kagome's figure in the grass. She was still asleep. He walked up to her and settled on the ground next to her. He was amazed at how beautiful she looked while she slept.

He ran his fingers through her hair till she started to wake up. "I-Inuyasha?" she squinted her eyes from the morning sun. Inuyasha moved his head so that he was face to face with her and his silver hair formed a curtain around the two of them.

"I'm sorry I was suck a dick, Kagome."

Kagome stared at him for a few seconds trying to decided if this was a dream or not.

"This was," he continued. "the first night we spent apart in a long time. I hated it, I thought it would never end."

"W-Why didn't you come back."

"I thought you would be mad at me."

He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. Kagome responded so he deepened the kiss. When he broke apart from her, he nuzzled his face against her neck. "I was worried when I didn't find you with the others." He mumbled while kissing and licking the skin around her collarbone.

"Serves you right." Kagome smiled. "You did you think I felt when you didn't come back last night."

Inuyasha laughed and met her lips again. It grew more and more intense till Kagome ripped her face away from Inuyasha and let out a minor scream.

"What's wrong?" Inuyasha asked instantly. "Did I hurt you?"

Kagome slightly pushed him and sat up. "Not you." She said. "This baby definitely has your fighting spirit. Kicking."

Inuyasha pressed his hand against her stomach and waited for a few minutes. "I can feel it."

Kagome smiled at him. "Come on. We should go back to Kaede's village."

****

::sigh:: fluffiness.

I'm in a really good mood right now. Yay. I wanted to get this chapter done before I had to start on my essay. I don't like doing essays. They're the most uncreative things I could possible write.

Just for fun... Anyone who thinks the baby will be a girl pick 'A'. Anyone who thinks the baby will be a boy pick 'B'. I've already decided, but I think it would be fun to see what you guys think.

I want 8 reviews.

Lots of love DD62386

**Bad News: The last Inuyasha show has been made. I guess it's true when they say 'All good things come to an end'. It is better to have seen and lost Inuyasha then to never have seen him at all.**


	39. Surprises

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha

**Notes to my reviewers: Sorry, I'm only human.**

Captured Moon: Tell Mr. Pizza that I love him ...

WolfsSora: I'll forgive you... this time.

Inufreak831: I'm in a really sad mood right now, so I can't say how good your review made me feel. Sorry. I know I'm not expressing it well right now, but I just want you to know tha I enjoyed your review.

Alex: The creation of a fanfic is a team effort. A writer would not want to write unless the reviewers would review. Even though your reviews aren't very long, they have a special spot in my heart.

Eekolie: Sango will be surprised because the baby will have two heads, a dragons tail, four pairs of eyes, and it will be bald.... just kidding.

TheWildWind: You're the best reviewer ever. : )

**Chapter Thirty Nine: Surprises**

Everyone passed by the well as they drew closer to Kaede's village. Sango, Miroku, Kohaku, and Shippo all continued walking without hesitation. But Inuyasha stopped when he noticed that Kagome took a long, wishful, look at it. "Do you want to go back to your time?" he asked.

The others stopped walking and turned around to look at Inuyasha and Kagome. Kohaku smiled a little. Sango had told him about the well and how Kagome and Inuyasha were able to travel through it.

"I'd kinnda like to see my mom." Kagome mumbled.

"Ok." Inuyasha turned to Sango and the others. "You guys go to Kaede's village. Kagome and I will be back in a few days."

"See you later Kagome." Sango said. She was eager to get back to Kaede's village. Miroku kept hinting and reminding her about the surprise he had instore and she really wanted to find out what it was.

Kagome gave Sango a relived smiled as she waved. Shippo gave Kagome a hug then ran ahead of the others. He was determined to be the first one to reach Kaede's village. He was happy to be back in all this familiar territory.

"Kaede Kaede!" he yelled out when he saw her.

Kaede, whom was bent over some plants in her garden, looked up at the happy child running towards her. "Shippo, ye are back." She welcomed Shippo's hug and waited for the others to join them.

"Where is Kagome and Inuyasha?" was the first thing she asked.

"Kagome and Inuyasha went back to her time for a few days." Sango said. She gave the old woman a hug. "Wait till you see Kagome, she's gotten so big."

"I bet. Dinner will be in a few hours. Why don't ye all rest after your long trip."

"We will." Miroku said, "But first I need to show Sango something."

Kaede laughed. "Did ye all find your brother, Sango?"

"Yeah. He's right - " Sango turned around and noticed that Kohaku wasn't with them. "Where is he?" she asked herself.

"There he is." Shippo pointed in the direction they came from.

Kohaku ran up to Miroku and the others, caught his breath, and bowed to Kaede.

"What kept you?" Sango asked.

"I wanted to watch Kagome jump down the well."

"She jumped!"

"No, Inuyasha carried her."

Sango let out a relived sigh. Miroku grabbed one of her hands, "Well, I might as well show you and Kohaku at the same time."

"Show us what?" Kohaku asked.

"My surprise."

Sango smiled. She had been waiting forever. "Can I come too." Shippo asked.

Miroku nodded, "Follow me." He started walking off. Sango, Kohaku, and Shippo all followed him eagerly looking around for anything that was new or interesting.

It took a little while, but Sango began to realize that they were walking to the same place Miroku had taken Sango before they left for their trip. _What could he possible have here_ she thought. Last time it was nothing but nice scenery.

"Cover your eyes Sango." Miroku said.

"How can I walk if I can't see where I'm going?"

"Don't worry." Kohaku said, "I'll help you." He grabbed onto her sleeve and pulled her along after she covered her eyes with one hand.

Sango tried her best to keep her balance. A small rock or upturned root could throw her off completely. She heard Kohaku and Shippo both gasp and wanted badly to open her eyes, but Miroku hadn't given her the okay yet.

"Can I open them now?" she asked.

"Not yet." He responded.

A few minutes later. "Now?"

"Nope."

Sango waited another five minutes till Kohaku stopped pulling on her arm. "How about now?" she asked.

"Ok." He said. "You can open your eyes now."

Sango lifted her hand away from her eyes and looked up. She sucked in a deep breath when a beautiful new house that stood in the spot where Miroku had taken her a while ago met her eyes.

"Miroku…" she was at a complete loss of words. The house seemed bigger then the other ones in Kaede's village, and it seemed a lot nicer too. The whole thing must have cost Miroku a lot of money.

She held back her tears and practically jumped on Miroku to give him a hug. "How did you ever pull this off."

"I paid some villagers to build it while we were gone."

Sango thought back to the day they left. "So that's the little errand you had to do."

Miroku laughed. "Yeah, I was hoping to surprise you. Do you like it?"

Sango hugged Miroku tighter. "Oh I love it. When do we get to move in?"

"I figured we would move in after we got married. Until then you can add all those, little touches, that woman like so much."

Sango kissed Miroku deeply and jumped out of her arms. She couldn't wait to see the inside.

… … … … … … … … … …

Inuyasha lifted Kagome up bridal style in one arm and used the other one to climb his way down the well. He refused to simply jump until they were only a few inches from the bottom, because of the risk to Kagome and the baby.

When they were on the other side, Kagome smiled. She could hear her mother's voice soon followed by Souta. They seemed to be walking past the well and into the house. "Hurry." Kagome pulled a little on Inuyasha's sleeve. "I've missed them so much. Last time they saw me, I wasn't showing."

Inuyasha laughed at her a little and slowly made his way out of the well. When Kagome's feet were safely on the ground again he let her run into the house. He was almost reminded of a small child.

"Mom! Souta! Grandpa!" Kagome yelled out when she was inside.

Her mom and little brother walked out of the living room. "Kagome! We were getting worried about you."

After they all got their fill of hugs, the first thing Kagome's mom said was "Wow. You've gotten a lot bigger."

Kagome laughed and brought her hand to her stomach. "Yeah. Inuyasha and I were going to stay for a few days, okay."

"Sure."

"Where's Grandpa?"

"He went to visit some friends for a while. It's a shame you missed him."

Inuyasha walked in the house and started to make his way to Kagome before Souta tackled him to the ground. "Ahhh, what the hell!"

"Hi Inuyasha. Do you want to play some more video games?"

"No." he said instantly, "they give me a headache."

Souta looked a little upset, but got off of Inuyasha. "I'll play with you later Souta." Kagome said.

Inuyasha stood up and brushed his cloths a little bit. Souta walked outside to play soccer. "We fixed your room Kagome." was the last thing he yelled out before the front door closed.

Kagome turned towards her mom. "What was wrong with my room?"

"Nothing. Souta and I have just been working on your room a lot lately."

"Doing what?"

"It's a surprise."

"Really."

"Yeah. Go take a look. "

Kagome smiled and walked up to her bedroom. Inuyasha was a little curious too, so he followed her. When they got there Inuyasha was surprised at how different it looked.

She had a bigger bed (made for two instead of one), a large dresser, a brand new desk, and in the corner of the room was a small crib. "Isn't it wonderful." Kagome smiled happily, holding onto Inuyasha's arm.

"Yeah I guess." He mumbled.

"What's wrong with it?"

Inuyasha sniffed the air. "I only has Souta and your mom's scent. One of the things I loved most about your old room was that it always smelled like you."

"Well," Kagome bite her bottom lip while thinking of a solution to Inuyasha's dilemma. "In a little while it will smell like me again, besides I'm right here for your sniffing pleasure anytime you want." She laughed holding her hand up slightly.

Inuyasha smiled and sniffed her hand. "Good."

Kagome's mom appeared behind them. "Your stuff is still in boxes Kagome." she said. "Souta and I didn't know if you really had a certain level of organization that you liked, so we decided to leave it up to you."

"Where are all the boxes?"

"In the guest room."

"I'll get them." Inuyasha said, he remembered all to well where the guestroom was. He kissed Kagome's cheek and walked out of the room.

"Do you like it?" Kagome's mom asked.

"I love it. You and Souta are so nice." She hugged her mom.

"Well, you and Inuyasha can unpack. I'll call you down for dinner."

"Ok."

When Kagome was alone in her new room she took the opportunity to explore her new dresser and desk. Opening all the drawers and running her hands along the wood.

"I've got some of your things." Inuyasha's voice interrupted her thoughts. "There are a lot of boxes."

Kagome laughed at the sight of Inuyasha. He was holding five boxes stacked on top of each other in his hands and one box balancing on his head. She stood up and took the one off of his head and set it on the floor.

"You shouldn't carry so many at once. You might drop one and break something."

"If I carry six each time, I'll be done in … about three trips."

Kagome took the boxes out of his hands and set them on the floor. She kissed him quickly before pushing him out the door. "Hurry. The more work we get done today, the less we'll have to do tomorrow morning."

Inuyasha grumbled a little before going down the stairs again.

Kagome started opening the boxes one by one. Most of them were full of clothing, but a few of them were filled with personally stuff. Book, drawings, and other random objects she had in her old room.

When Inuyasha came up the second time he had six boxes in his hands and one balanced on his head. He piled all the boxes on the floor and turned to Kagome. "I brought more boxes then last time, so I think I'm entitled to a better kiss."

Kagome laughed at his attitude and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I think you're right." She kissed him more passionately this time, opening her mouth for him.

Right as Inuyasha started to enjoy it, she pulled away. "Go get the last of the boxes." She whispered to him.

Inuyasha sighed and walked out again.

The two of them had more fun unpacking then they thought they would. Inuyasha was in charge of hanging up all her shirts, dresses, and anything fancy while also putting her pants, shorts, skirts, and (his personal favorites) bras and underwear in the dresser.

Kagome's clothing took up the top three drawers and she saved the three bottom ones for Inuyasha's clothing that she planned on buying later.

Kagome emptied the boxes that head her books, pictures, phone, alarm clock, and basically everything else she might ever need. She paused a little when she found a painting she did for school a while ago.

"Look Inuyasha."

He turned and looked at the painting in Kagome's hand. It had all the three versions of him. In the background was his full demon and full human and closer up was his half demon self.

"You made this?"

"Yeah. It was for my art class. I figured these to forms," she pointed to the figures in the background. "are what make you, you."

Inuyasha smiled at it. "Where do you want to put this?"

"I guess on the wall somewhere." She glanced around. "How about above the bed."

Inuyasha nodded and watched her hang it up. He was surprised that Kagome painted a picture of him like that. Nobody had ever done that before.

When Kagome was finished putting up the painting she took a few steps back and admired it for a little while. They only had a few boxes left so Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's hand and headed downstairs.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"Outside."

"For what?"

"I want to watch the sun set."

Inuyasha glanced out one of the windows as they passed it by. He hadn't realized how late it was. When they were outside Kagome pulled Inuyasha to the center of her backyard and sat down in the grass.

Inuyasha took the spot next to her and looked up at the sky. Kagome laughed at how attentive he was being to the sunset and rested her head in his lap. Inuyasha looked down at her and ran his fingers through her hair. "You look beautiful today Kagome."

Kagome looked up at him and rubbed one of his ears. Inuyasha closed his eyes and sighed. He loved it when Kagome rubbed his ears.

The sky started to turn different shades of orange, pink, and purple so Kagome sat up and leaned her head on Inuyasha's shoulder. "It's beautiful isn't it."

"Kagome!" Kagome's mom yelled out her name.

"Yes?" she turned and faced the house.

"Could you help me for a second."

"Sure." Kagome quickly kissed Inuyasha then stood up and walked into the house.

Inuyasha sighed and looked down at his claws. Waiting.

… … … … … … … … … …

Kagome set the table carefully. Her mother had insisted on using the fancy dishes and she didn't want to break any of them. Her mother was cooking steaks tonight.

"Kagome, could you set out the wine glasses on the counter."

"Wine glasses?" Kagome was confused by the sudden formality of dinner. She set out four glasses, one for each of them.

"I picked up some red wine at the store today. I figured we could all have it with dinner." Kagome's mom said as she filled each glass up, saving the last two. "Except for you and Souta. I got you some non-alcoholic grape juice."

Kagome laughed "So you basically got wine for you and Inuyasha.". When she was a little girl and her mother had her fancy dinner parties Kagome would have a glass of that grape juice. The adults thought it was funny when she walked around pretending that it was real wine.

"Does Inuyasha like wine?"

"I don't know." Kagome took the glasses and set the on the table. "I think that's everything."

"Yeah. Why don't you call down Souta. He's in his room."

Kagome walked up the stairs to Souta's bedroom while her mom light the candles. She turned away from the table and screamed when she saw Inuyasha. She wasn't expecting him to be in his human form, so she thought some strange man was in her house.

"Did I scare you?" he asked.

"No." she said clutching her chest and breathing deeply.

"What happened?" Souta and Kagome walked over to her.

"Nothing lets have dinner."

… … … … … … … … … …

Dinner had been an amusing event. Inuyasha had never had wine before. Thinking it was like any other drink, he gulped it down in a matter of seconds. It wouldn't have effected him, but he was human tonight, so he felt lightheaded the rest of the night.

After all the dishes were cleaned everyone sat in the living room to watch some movie that Souta had picked earlier. He was on the floor in front of the TV. Inuyasha sat on the couch with Kagome, having his arm around her shoulders. And Kagome's mom sat on the overstuffed chair near them.

They were all relaxing when Kagome stood up. "Something wrong?" Inuyasha asked.

Kagome started to walk away without answering him, but stopped at the entrance to the living room and clutched the wall. Both Inuyasha and Kagome's mom stood up and went to her side.

"Kagome. What's wrong?" Inuyasha asked again. Her eyes were closed and she was gritting her teeth. He could tell that something was wrong.

Kagome couldn't answer him. She dropped to her knees and let out a small scream.

"Kagome! We're gonna take you to the hospital!" her mom said. "Inuyasha, Souta, you get her in the van. I'm gonna get my car keys."

… … … … … … … … … …

Did you know… without realizing it, I actually dropped a few hints about the baby being a girl or boy in the last few chapters. They aren't really big or anything, so don't get frustrated.

I'm feeling sad right now, so I need 5 reviews that make me happy and make me laugh. Somebody tell me a joke ... please.

Lots of love … DD62386


	40. Big Bowls Of Soup And Ice Cream

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

**Notes to my reviewers: I was sad when I wrote my last chapter because I was sick, but I'm better now. Thanks for all the funny reviews.**

Hanyou-Goddess-Of-The-Red: Yeah, Kagome will go after Kikyo once the baby is born. Don't worry, the evil clay pot bitch will pay.

Alex: Are you the strong silent type ?

Captured Moon: I never looked at it that way before ... hmm ... it would be cool to say the baby was 500 years old. I feel a little guilty now, everyone thinks Kagome went into labor. :: sighs and shakes head :: I'll have to make it up to everyone somehow.

DemonKitty: ... o ... O ... Now I get it! Ha ha ha!

Baby G: You will find out in time young grasshopper.

InU's-KaGoMe-07: Sorry, Kagome's not having the baby, so you should probably hold off on the prancing until it's really born.

KiLaLa, Kagome's Daughter: Response to 'Question of the Day' - 12th. I have four younger brothers and one older sister. _Big family._

**Chapter Forty: Big Bowls of Ice Cream and Soup**

Inuyasha walked nervously up and down the hospital's hallway outside the room that Kagome was in. It was a good thing he was human tonight, but that was the last concern on his mind. He was told to wait in the hall with Souta, but he wanted desperately to go in to the room and find out what happened to his mate and pup.

It wasn't till almost midnight, when Kagome's mom finally walked out into the hallway. Inuyasha instantly ran up to her and started asking questions. "Is Kagome okay? Did something happen to the baby?" He didn't know if he would be able to handle it if Kagome or the baby died.

"Kagome is fine." her mom said. She grabbed one of Inuyasha's hands and looked him right in the eyes. "She just... went into false labor. Sometimes it happens."

"False labor. Why?"

"I'm not really sure. Sometimes stress or the human body can cause it. I'm not sure what triggered it in Kagome, but she's fine now."

"C-Can I go talk to her?"

"Yes. The hospital wants her to stay overnight though."

"Overnight!" Inuyasha's face grew grim.

Kagome's mom smiled at how concerned he was for her. "Listen. I was going to go home and pick up a change of clothing for Kagome, if you want I can bring that red hat by too. That way you can spend the night and nobody will see your ears in the morning."

Inuyasha smiled and walked into the room they kept Kagome in. He was surprised to see that she didn't look sad or upset. In fact she smiled at the sight of him and continued eating her chocolate ice cream.

"Do you want some?" she asked. "The nurse said I could have as much as I wanted."

He took another step through the door and noticed that Kagome, despite the smile, didn't look well. She was a little weaker then normal and her eyes seemed tired, he could even make out lines on her cheek from crying earlier due to the pain. "Kagome." he whispered walking over to her bed. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For what?"

Inuyasha wrapped an arm around her and buried his face in her chest. It wasn't a sexual thing, more like a child taking comfort in a mother's embrace. "I feel like this is my fault." came the muffled response.

Kagome rubbed his ears, knowing he liked it. "It isn't. Do you want some ice cream?"

Inuyasha smiled and lifted his head up. "No." He had been given ice cream once before when he was in Kagome's time. It was so cold that it hurt his fangs, so he decided not to eat it again. "How can you act so calm and happy. I was worried sick."

"I know. That's why I'm calm and happy. One of us has to be, and I knew it wouldn't be you."

Inuyasha pushed Kagome a little bit so that there was room on the bed for him to climb in. Once he was beside her, he gave her a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Inuyasha looked down at Kagome, confused, then started to laugh. "What's so funny?" Kagome asked.

"Nothing. It's just, that kiss tasted a lot like chocolate."

Kagome laughed and snuggled in close to him. The warmth from his body and his arm around her soothed her into a calm sleep. Inuyasha watched her for a little while before he heard someone walk into the room.

"Ooo. You two look so cute." Kagome's mom said. Her eyes brightened up when she saw the way Kagome was sleeping with Inuyasha's arm around her.

She set Kagome's clothing next to the bed with Inuyasha's hat on top. "Are you going to spend the nigh too?" Inuyasha asked.

"No. I have work in the morning. Bring Kagome home when the doctor says she can leave."

"Okay."

Kagome's mom turned to walk out, but paused. She moved back over to Inuyasha and gave him a hug. "I couldn't be happier for you and Kagome." she whispered before heading out the door.

Inuyasha watched her leave then looked back down at Kagome. He brushed some hair out of her face before allowing himself to fall asleep too.

****

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Inuyasha woke up when he felt Kagome stir. He opened his eyes and looked down at her. She wasn't awake though, "Must be dreaming." he mumbled to himself. He reached over to the pile of cloths and placed the cap on his head.

It was a good thing too, because a few seconds later Kagome's doctor walked into the room. "Hello Inuyasha. I take it you spent the night here."

It took Inuyasha a second to remember who this man was and how he knew his name. "Oh - yeah." he said finally.

The doctor sat in a chair on the side of the bed that Kagome was on. "She should be fine. Make sure she doesn't do any heavy work until after the baby's born. She'll need to stay off her feet a lot more, basically. Other then that, everything is fine."

"Okay."

"When she wakes up I'm going to do an ultrasound on her, so I'll check on you two in about fifteen minutes."

The doctor started to walk out of the room, but then Inuyasha go an idea. "Excuse me. Are you aware of the gender of the baby."

"Yes. I was the one who told Kagome."

"Could you tell me?"

The doctor smiled. "She informed me when we found out that she wanted you to be surprised. I've been sworn to secrecy." he laughed a little and walked out of the room.

"Damn it." Inuyasha said, a little too loud, because Kagome woke up.

"Is something wrong?" she yawned and stretched out a little.

"You're too damn smart. You think of everything."

"What?"

"You told the doctor not to tell me if the baby is a girl or boy."

Kagome giggled. "Yeah. I knew you would ask him, if you got the chance."

Inuyasha kissed Kagome. "You know me too well."

"Yeah."

"You should get dressed, the doctor said he was going to do a ... alt-tree-sound."

Kagome laughed when he tried to tell her that. "Okay."

She sat up and started to get dressed, keeping her back towards Inuyasha. She still felt a little uncomfortable about him seeing her gigantic belly, even though she knew he didn't care. "Last night you were human."

"Yeah, so."

"That makes me, officially, eight months pregnant."

"Good to know."

When Kagome turned back around Inuyasha sat up in the bed, "Your mom came in last night."

"Obviously." Kagome said, referring to the clothing.

"S-She gave me a hug."

"So."

Inuyasha looked down at his claws and blushed a little. "She hugged me like a mother hugs a son. It was a nice hug. I haven't gotten a hug like hers since my mom died."

Kagome smiled. "Well, you're part of our family now."

Kagome was about to lean in for a kiss when the doctor walked into the room. "Ah, Kagome you're awake. We're ready for you now."

"Okay." she said. "Wait here." she whispered to Inuyasha before following the doctor out the door. Inuyasha sighed and leaned back onto the bed. Ever since the night before he hated hearing those words.

"Oh well." he said to himself. "I don't care about a stupid alt-tree-sound anyway. Who cares what trees sound like."

****

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Inuyasha jumped from building to building being very careful with his landings, considering Kagome was on his back. She told him that she was capable of walking, but he reminded her of what the doctor said. Truth be told, Inuyasha was glad. He had been trying to get Kagome to take it easy since the day he found out she was pregnant, and now he had back up.

When they reached Kagome's house he set her down on the ground carefully. Inuyasha sniffed the air then said; "Souta went to school. Nobody's here."

"That's good. I hate it when everyone acts like I'm extremely breakable."

"But you are."

Kagome shook her head and walked into the house. Inuyasha followed her, noticing something he hadn't seen before. She was holding a red folder.

"Kagome. What's in the folder?"

"I'll show you after we eat lunch." she responded. "Do you want Ramen?"

"Do you really have to ask."

Kagome laughed and set the red folder on the kitchen counter while she got out some Ramen for Inuyasha and a can of Potato soup for herself. She had been craving Potato soup all day.

Inuyasha followed her into the kitchen and sat down on the floor as he watched her cook. Every now and then he eyed the red folder, it would have been so easy to grab it and run, but Kagome kept distracting him. When she cooked she hummed a little and Inuyasha couldn't help but be absorbed by the sound of her voice.

Kagome's voice actually brought back a memory he had long since forgotten. He remembered being little and playing in the garden while his mother sang a song as she tended to the weeds. It was one of the happiest memories he had from his childhood. Running around, stomping on bugs so they wouldn't eat their food, all so he could get a 'good job honey.' from his mom.

"Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha looked up. Kagome was sitting at the table with one bowl in front of her, waiting for him to join. She had a slight smile on her face, "Is this the first time in history that I'll have to mention, for a second time, that the Ramen is done."

Inuyasha stood up and sat down next to her where his bowl was.

"What were you thinking about?" Kagome asked as she started to eat her soup.

"Nothing. You should sing more often."

Kagome looked at him oddly. "Was I singing a second ago?"

Inuyasha nodded and Kagome's face turned bright red.

"Sorry." She said. "I didn't even realize it."

"What do you mean, 'sorry'."

"I've never been that great of a singer." Kagome looked down into her bowl. _Wow, potato soup doesn't look that appetizing when you see it up close_ she thought.

"You a good singer." Inuyasha said before devouring the Ramen before him.

Kagome finished her soup and looked at Inuyasha _I wonder if this is what the married life is like_ she thought _sitting beside someone you love, eating a meal, in a welcomeing home_. Inuyasha noticed her staring, so he sucked up the last bit of noodles and asked her about the folder again.

Kagome shook her head, "Oh yeah." She cleared the table then walked over to the counter and started shifting through some papers. Inuyasha watched her curiously till she sat down next to him again.

"I want to show you this." Kagome placed a paper on the table in front of Inuyasha. He looked down at it, but grew confused. He wasn't really sure what it was.

"What is -" he started to ask, but Kagome cut him off.

"Inuyasha. An ultrasound is when the doctor take a special kind of machine to look inside of me at the baby."

Inuyasha's mouth opened wide. If he had known that, he would have insisted on going with her.

"Anyway," Kagome continued. "This is the picture he took."

"W-What?"

Kagome smiled and pointed down at the picture. "It's a picture of our baby."

Inuyasha's jaw dropped and he stared more closely at the picture Kagome had given him. Now that he knew what he was looking for, he was able to see it clearly. He could make out two legs, two arms, one head, and (through they were very hard to see) little bitty dog ears on it's head.

"What did the doctor say about the dog ears?" he asked.

"He thought there was something wrong with the machine."

"Have you thought about what to tell him when the baby is born?"

Kagome sighed. "No. I'll figure out something when it happens."

He tried and tried, but he couldn't make out the gender of the baby. He growled a little which caused Kagome to laugh. "You'll find out in a month, don't worry."

Inuyasha looked at Kagome. "A month." He was surprised at how a month seemed like it would take forever to pass, but at the same time seemed like it would come too soon.

Kagome kissed Inuyasha on the cheek and started walking to her room. Inuyasha, still glancing down at the picture, followed her and sat down on her bed. It took him a little while to finally pull his eyes away from the piece of paper in his hand and look up at Kagome.

"Kagome!" he said suddenly. While he was sitting on her bed, she had been unpacking some of, the few, boxes they had left.

"What?"

"You shouldn't be doing that. Lay down."

Kagome sighed, knowing that there was no point in starting a fight, and laid down on her bed. Inuyasha ran his fingers through her hair until she fell asleep. It didn't take long, considering how late she went to sleep last night. One he was absolutely sure she was asleep, he got off the bed and started to finish the work that Kagome had started.

The very last thing he took out of a box was a sketchbook, but it seemed older then the other one Kagome had. He opened it up and began flipping through the pages.

He could tell it was made before she fell through the well a year and a half ago. Not only because he, along with the others, weren't included in the pictures, but also because of the quality of them. These drawings weren't nearly as nice as her newer ones.

After going through the entire book a couple of times, Inuyasha noticed a blank page. He picked up on of the pencils on the desk and started to draw a picture of Kagome sleeping. The finished product didn't look that impressive (it was, more or less, a fancy stick figure), but he was still proud of it.

He set the drawing on the desk and stretched his arms above his head. A yawn escaped his lips, so he moved into the bed beside Kagome. With one arm wrapped around her, he fell asleep.

****

… … … … … … … … … …

I know I know. This is just a filler chapter, but who cares. I'm in a little better mood. Thanks for all the uplifting reviews. Are you guys aware of how close we are to the goal of 1,000 reviews … We might just make it.

_I am taking this opportunity to mention sailorscoutmomijichan... happy thoughts..._

I want six reviews. Six.

Lots of love… DayDreamer62386


	41. A Roll To Shippo's Disgust

****

Disclaimer: Ich besitze Inuyasha nicht. _(I do not possess Inuyasha)_

****

Notes to my reviewers: Yay! I got 1,000 reviews. The 1,000th one was from Beachbunny229 so this chapter it dedicated to that o-so-special' reviewer.

Eekolie: Poor thing it sucks to be sick.

Daydreaminkid12: I'm sure it will.

Shippochan526: I can tell by your pen name that you're a Shippo fan. Please don't hate me by the end of this chapter. I swear I'm not evil.

Akihana: I won't make any promises, but don't worry, the baby will be born soon. Then you can all learn the gender and finally be satisfied.

Inufreak831: 5! Wow, you really took one for the team. It helped a _lot_. Trust me. Thanks for the cookies, I was getting a little hungry.

Inuyasha's Priestess: Don't worry I didn't forget. Your character was planning on showing up in this chapter.

Shy-me-95: More or less, this is my first fanfic.

Kagome-dream-on: Every time I come across a new member I give them a flower. Please accept this complimentary yellow flower :: hands you a flower :: enjoy.

****

Chapter Forty One: A Roll To Shippo's Disgust

Inuyasha walked cautiously up to the two girls sitting in the grass. He, along with the other guys, had been trying to keep their distance from them. Sango and Kagome had been going crazy with decorating Sango's house and planning the wedding. Every time one of the guys tried to spend time with the girls they would be bombarded with questions about what looks good on who or what should go where.

They all found it really annoying, so they tried their best to stay out of the process. As long as Kagome was beside him while she slept, he was happy.

"Inuyasha." Kagome smiled when she saw him. "What are you doing here?"

Inuyasha froze in place. _Should I just slowly back away_ he thought to himself _no, that would look suspicious_. He sighed and walked closer to Kagome. "I came to make a deal with you."

"What kind of deal?"

"I can't stand your girly talk, but you won't stay at Kaede's house all day like you should. So I'll make a deal with you."

"Hmm." Kagome looked at him skeptically. Inuyasha and her had been having a bunch of fights because she refused to stay indoors all day.

"I asked a girl to stay with you."

"What!" Kagome shook her head. "Why?"

"She'll stay with you and Sango when I'm not around. I told her to help you out with anything you need help with."

Kagome rolled her eyes. She knew that Inuyasha was just worried that she would go into a false or premature labor. "Fine. Who is she?"

Inuyasha looked over his shoulder. It confused Kagome for a minute until she saw a woman standing behind him. "Her name is Sonia." Inuyasha stepped out of the way.

Sango and Kagome stood up to greet the girl. She dark brown hair that fell just below her shoulders and brown eyes that had little bits of green in them. She looked cautiously at Kagome then looked at Inuyasha. "How far along is she?"

"I'm eight months." Kagome said. If Sonia was going to ask any question, she might as well be the ones to answer them.

"Ok — umm — I'm gonna go now." Inuyasha said. He started to walk away, but Kagome stopped him.

"Inuyasha wait."

Inuyasha's ears drooped. He was hopping he would get away without having to give his opinion on something. "What." He closed his eyes and refused to turn around.

"Here."

Inuyasha opened his eyes again when he felt something fall into his hand. He looked down and saw a roll. "What is this?" he asked.

"It's something Sango and I cooked. We were thinking of serving it at her wedding."

"So."

"You have really great taste buds. Eat it and tell me what you think."

"That's it."

Kagome laughed. "Yeah." She gave him a tiny shove. "Now go on, or you'll have to put up with more girly talk."

Inuyasha stared at Kagome for a long moment before shrugging and walking away. Kagome smiled and sat back down with Sango and Sonia. "I don't remember the two of us cooking anything." Sango said.

"We didn't."

"If you wanted something served at my wedding, I could have tasted it."

Kagome laughed. "Trust me, you won't want to taste it. It's a little payback for the fight we had earlier."

Sango and Sonia both looked at each other then Kagome. Neither of them had a clue about why she was so happy. "So!" Kagome clapped her hands together, "Sonia, why don't you help Sango and I pick the type of flowers were going to use."

****

Inuyasha sniffed the roll suspiciously as he walked into Kaede's house. He hadn't, exactly, left Kagome on good terms last time they were together. So he wondered why she pretended that nothing had happened.

"What's wrong with the roll, Inuyasha?" Shippo asked.

"N-Nothing. Kagome wanted you to have it." Inuyasha tossed the roll over to Shippo.

Shippo grabbed the roll happily and sat down to eat it. Miroku was sitting by the door with a bunch of papers in his hand. "What are those?" Inuyasha asked taking the spot next to him.

"It's a list of the people Sango wants to invite to the wedding."

Inuyasha looked over the list. "And how do you plan to get a hold of all those people."

"Well we were hoping a certain half demon could track these people down."

Inuyasha folded his arms. "No."

"I will only take about a day. You should be done by the time night comes."

"I'm not some mutt that tracks people down at your beck and call."

"Do you have any other plans."

"I " Inuyasha tried to think of something. _Damn it_ he couldn't.

Miroku smiled and handed Inuyasha the papers. "Thanks, I appreciate it."

Inuyasha was about to toss them aside when Shippo let out a loud yell. The small child had taken a bite of the roll meant for Inuyasha. Apparently Kagome had added all kinds of spices that made it extremely hot for whoever ate it.

"Ok, I'll go." Inuyasha laughed at Shippo's torture and walked out the door. He was still smiling brightly when he passed the three girls again.

"Why are you so happy?" Sango asked.

Inuyasha responded with out stopping or turning around. "I hate being greedy, so I gave Shippo that roll Kagome made for me."

Kagome gasped and brought her hand to her mouth. "Poor Shippo." She mumbled.

Inuyasha growled at the sun as it started to sink lower in the sky. If he didn't hurry up and finish his task, he might not get back to Kaede's house before Kagome falls asleep. "Stupid Miroku." he mumbled. Inuyasha had been jumping and running from village to village, so he could find the people on the list and tell them to come to the wedding. Some consolation was brought when he realized that he only had three more names left.

He found two of them easy enough. An elderly couple that housed Sango when she was younger and traveled to their village to slay a demon. They were both happy to hear that their 'little Sango' was all grown up and getting married. Inuyasha laughed. He couldn't picture Sango as a young child.

As he walked away from the village he looked down at the paper in his hand and smiled to see that there was only one name left, but that smiled quickly vanished. The name. "S-Sesshomaru. What the fuck is she inviting him for!" he yelled out. A woman walking along the path cover her daughter's ears and hurried her pace.

Inuyasha growled deeply and debated going back to Kaede's village without even trying to find Sesshomaru. It wasn't like he would come anyway ... would he. "Damn it!" Inuyasha crumpled the paper into a little ball and tossed it against a tree. He knew that Sango was counting on him.

She probably just wants to ask Sesshomaru to help with the whole... Kohaku situation he thought as he jumped to the top of a tree. He could never be completely sure where his half brother was, but he knew the general area that he usually hung out in. I'll go there and sniff him out Inuyasha decided before jumping off again.

Rin playful splashed the water when she saw a fish swim by. She was just finishing up her bath. Jaken was a few feet away with his eyes covered. "Are you almost done Rin?"

"Yeah. I just need to get dressed." she jumped out of the water and grabbed her clothing. She had a brand new outfit now. It was a lot like her old one, except white. She had kept bugging Sesshomaru until he finally got her one.

It wasn't that her old clothing was bad. She had started to outgrow it, plus she wanted to wear the same color as her lord.

"I'm clean now Jaken" she walked over to the little green creature and placed a hand on his head. "Can we go back to camp now?"

Jaken stood up and started walking back to the camp that Sesshomaru was waiting at. Rin ran happily ahead of him so that she could be the first to see him. "Lord Sesshomaru! I'm all clean now. So my smell won't hurt your nose anymore."

That was how it was with Rin. She would always put off taking a bath, so she won't slow down the traveling, until her scent would offend Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru just glanced at Rin once from the spot he was sitting. It didn't upset Rin, she was used to it. She sat down next to him and started playing with a little bug that walked across her path. Sesshomaru watched the girl play and titled his head to the sky again. A few minutes ago he thought he picked up the scent of someone, but it had gone.

"Rin, Jaken, I'll be back. Wait here." he stood up and started to walk away from camp.

"Can I come with you lor -" Rin started to call out, but Sesshomaru interrupted her.

"No. You wait here with Jaken."

Jaken and Rin watched him leave. When he was completely out of sight Jaken kicked a rock as hard as he could, sending it flying. "I hate when he leaves without telling us anything."

"He'll be back." Rin said in her sign-songy voice.

Jaken stared at the little girl. "How come you're always so happy to be with Lord Sesshomaru?"

"How come you're not?" Rin looked directly at him.

Jaken frowned. "You're such a stupid girl. Someday Lord Sesshomaru will get sick of having you around all the time. Then he'll leave you in the middle of the woods to fend for yourself." He regretted those words as soon as they left his mouth, especially when tears started to form in Rin's eyes. He didn't know why he was so upset with Rin. It was probably because Sesshomaru was always nicer to Rin then he had been to him.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Sesshomaru walked away from his campsite towards the faint scent he had picked up earlier. _If I didn't know better, I'd say that was._ but he didn't have to finish his own thought before Inuyasha jumped down a few feet away from him.

After standing up and dusting himself off Inuyasha glared at his brother.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" Sesshomaru stared coldly at Inuyasha. "Are you here to fight?"

Inuyasha tried to ignore the urge to attack Sesshomaru with his bare claws _You're doing this for Sango you're doing this for Sango _he had to keep repeating that in his head as he walked closer to his brother.

"I'm here to deliver a message."

"So you've become some human's pet dog. One that delivers something on command."

Inuyasha made fist and dug his claws into his own flesh to remind himself of his real task. "I was sent to invite you to a wedding. Sango's."

"Sango. Isn't she that human' demon slayer that you travel with."

Inuyasha growled. "I don't give a rat's ass if you come or not. But it would make Sango happy I guess."

Inuyasha couldn't stand another minute with Sesshomaru so he started to turn around and walk away.

"You've grown weak Inuyasha. Caring so much about the feelings of humans."

"You're one to talk." Inuyasha said without stopping. "I can smell that little girl. Now if you're done blabbing, I've got a mate to get back to."

Sesshomaru stood there for a long time staring in the direction Inuyasha had walked off in, thinking about what he had said. About Rin and about a mate. "Mate?" he spoke to himself. "Inuyasha has a mate? Why didn't I smell it on him?"

****

Inuyasha let out a sigh when he got back to Kaede's village. There wasn't a single fire lit, everyone went to sleep. He was hoping that he'd get back in time for dinner. Kicking himself for even bothering with Sesshomaru he made his way to Kaede's house. He was a little surprised, though, to see Kagome sitting outside of it, waiting for him.

"You shouldn't be out here?" Inuyasha said as he sat next to her.

"Why?"

"Because. It's cold out. You might get sick."

Kagome leaned on Inuyasha, resting her head on his shoulder. "Where did you go today?"

"I went to deliver messages for Sango and Miroku."

"That was nice of you."

Inuyasha rubbed Kagome's lower back with one hand. "So what happened to Shippo."

Kagome smiled. "Nothing. He just drank _lots_ of water."

"What was in that roll?"

"Every kind of spicy ingredient I could get my hands on."

Inuyasha laughed. "I dodged a bullet there didn't I"

"Yeah."

He lifted Kagome onto his lap and ran his claws through her hair. "We should go inside."

Kagome leaned against Inuyasha's chest and took in the smell of the lawn just after it rains. "No. It's nice out here."

"Fine." Inuyasha decided it would be easier to just wait till Kagome fell asleep. "So did Sango pick a day for the wedding."

"Yeah." Kagome closed her eyes.

"When is it?"

"Three weeks from tomorrow."

"Why then?"

Kagome gave a small yawn and took a few seconds to answer his question. "Because. The baby is supposed to be born in two weeks. Sango wanted to have the wedding after the baby is born."

"Two weeks huh."

"Yeah."

Inuyasha leaned back against Kaede's house. "It'll be nice to sleep in a tree again."

Kagome laughed slightly, "Nothings stopping you."

"Feh." He wasn't about to sleep in a tree without his arms wrapped around Kagome.

****

Sorry it took so long to write this chapter. I've had to do so many essays for my teacher that the sight of a keyboard made me sick. But now I'm sitting here with a nice hot cup of tea hopping you guys will like this chapter.

I want 4.8 reviews.

_I started out with nothing, and I still have most of it._

Lots of love, DayDreamer62386


	42. One Bride And One Baby

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

**Notes to my reviewers: Sorry it took so long. I had writer's block again.**

Warprince2000: Let's find out together.

Akihanah: ::sniff:: I didn't mean to ::sob::

Alex: Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia - Fear of long words

Exquisite Angel: ... good to know

Captured Moon: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! This chapter is your birthday gift from me.

JosieBelle: I'm sorry, I can't marry you. My heart was stolen away by a tall dark stranger many years ago.

Eekolie: ... ...

**Chapter Forty Two: One Bride and One Baby**

"Lord Sesshomaru, where are we going?" The annoying little imp asked.

"We're going to see my half brother."

"Lord Inuyasha? What could we possible want with him?"

"Inuyasha has a mate. I want to see if he's redeemed himself and picked a demon mate or if he picked that stupid human girl that he is always with."

A small sniffle caught Sesshomaru's attention. He turned his head slightly and saw that Rin looked depressed again. She had been acting that way for the last few days that they've been traveling. "Rin. Crying is for the weak. Stop."

"I'm sorry my lord."

Sesshomaru sighed. She had said that many times before. "Why are you sad Rin?"

Rin glanced down at Jaken then back to her lord. "Lord Sesshomaru, are you planning on just … leaving me in the middle of the woods some day."

Sesshomaru stopped walking and looked down at Rin. "What?"

"Are you gonna get sick of me and abandon me in the middle of the woods?"

"Who told you that?"

"J-Jaken."

Sesshomaru looked down at the little green imp with a death glare. "Forgive me lord!" Jaken yelled out falling on his hands and knees. "I didn't mean to put such idea's in that girls head."

But Sesshomaru would have none of that. He took out one of his swords and sliced Jaken in half. Rin gasped. He waited a few more minutes before taking out his other sword and reviving Jaken. "If you lie to the girl again," Sesshomaru said when Jaken had pulled himself together, "I won't bring you back to life."

"Yes my lord." Jaken mumbled.

Sesshomaru continued to walk, Rin staying by his side. "Will Inuyasha be mad that we're showing up?" she asked.

"No. We were invited."

"Invited?"

"For a wedding."

Rin squealed in delight. "A wedding!" she started jumping up and down. "Will I get to dress in pretty clothing, with flowers in my hair, and -"

"Quiet Rin." Sesshomaru said. He didn't want to hear a small girl rant on about some stupid human ceremony.

"Yes my lord."

… … … … … … … … … …

Kagome sat up suddenly and rubbed her back. It was getting harder and harder to sleep through the entire night. It normally wouldn't have made it so frustrated, but she was supposed to give birth a while ago. Apparently her baby was just as stubborn as it's father and was taking it's sweet time.

She looked down at Inuyasha. He was sleeping soundly beside her. She was a little surprised that her sudden movement didn't wake him up. "Are you okay." A sudden voice in the dark almost scared Kagome, but she knew it was just Sango.

"You should be asleep." Kagome whispered.

"I know. I'm just … nervous."

Kagome looked down when she saw Inuyasha's ears twitch. "Come on…" she motioned for Sango to stand up. "Let's go for a walk. I don't want to wake anyone up."

The two girls stood and walked outside. It was fairly warm for the middle of the night.

"Kagome."

Sango and Kagome turned around. Sonia had followed them. "I'm sorry," Kagome said "did we wake you?"

"No. Are you guys going for a walk?"

"Yeah, come on."

Kagome had gotten used to this. Sonia would follow her around every where. It used to annoy her, but she knew that it was for her own good. Besides, Sonia was just doing what Inuyasha had asked her to do.

"So, why are you so nervous?" Kagome asked Sango once the three of them were a safe distance from Kaede's house.

"I don't know." She shrugged. "What if Miroku changes his mind?"

Kagome and Sonia started laughing.

"What!" Sango exclaimed.

"Sorry Sango. But that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Kagome said.

"Yeah. I haven't know you guys that long, but I can tell Miroku loves you." Sonia said.

"You two are getting married the day after tomorrow. I either of you were to change your mind, I'm sure it would have happened by now."

Sango blushed and nodded. Kagome tried, but failed, to hide her yawn. The others looked at her. "Oh Kagome," Sango said, "we shouldn't be keeping you up so late."

"I'm fine." Kagome waved her hands to shoo them away, but it didn't work. Both the girls grabbed Kagome's arms and started to pull her back towards Kaede's house.

Kagome laughed and stopped trying to resist, knowing it was pointless. Suddenly she was overcome with a feeling that she was being watched. She glanced from side to side, straining her eyes to see what was there. It took a few minutes, but she was able to make out a figure. _Who is that_ she asked herself.

She continued to stare at it. She couldn't make out any facial features, but she felt like she had seen that person somewhere before.

"What are you looking at Kagome?" Sonia asked.

Kagome snapped herself out of her thoughts and glanced at the two girls. "N-Nothing." They were standing right outside Kaede's house. Kagome walked in and took her spot next to Inuyasha again.

The hanyou, though still asleep, wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer to him. Kagome smiled and rubbed his ears for a few minutes till she fell asleep as well.

Off in the distance Sesshomaru stood in the same spot. He was the one that Kagome had seen earlier. He was disappointed to see that his brother had indeed picked a human mate. _Figures_ he thought. A small sigh caught his attention. He looked over to the spot where Rin and Jaken were sleeping. Rin's eyes were moving under her eyelids._… maybe not all human are pathetic_ he continued.

… … … … … … … … … … …

Morning came quicker then anyone wanted, especially for Kagome who had woken up three more times before sunrise. Inuyasha was surprised when she told him that. Normally he was a light sleeper, so it bugged him when he realized that he hadn't woken up along with her.

After a nice hot breakfast Kagome stood up and started to walk towards the door. "Where are you going?" Inuyasha asked, drawing all attention in the room to her.

Kagome frowned. She was hoping on getting out without anyone noticing. "I'm — er — going to take a bath."

"Have Sonia go with you."

Sonia set her plate aside and stood up.

"I can manage without her." Kagome tried to put on her best game face, but it didn't fool Inuyasha one little bit.

"We made a deal remember."

Kagome sighed and nodded "I know, it's just … I need some alone time. You and Sonia have been following my every move for the last two weeks."

Inuyasha looked over at Sonia then back to Kagome. "F-Fine. Just don't be gone to long."

Kagome leaned over and kissed Inuyasha's forehead then left the house. She ignored the feeling of guilt that bite the back of her neck. She did, in fact, lie to Inuyasha. She wasn't planning on going to take a bath. She had decided to go and see who it was that was in the woods last night. She knew that she had seen that person somewhere before.

She looked around for a little while, but couldn't find where it was she had seen the figure. She was almost ready to give up when she got to the river. Giving out a frustrated sigh, she dipped her feet in the water and decided to relax for a little while.

Keeping her feet in the cool water, she laid back against the grass. It took her a few moments to realize that she wasn't alone. Standing not that far from her was a little girl. "Hello, I didn't see you there. What's your name?" Kagome sat up.

The little girl smiled and sat down next to her. "Rin. My lord said that you were Inuyasha's mate."

Kagome was a little surprised, but nodded. "How do you and your lord know who Inuyasha is?"

"My lord and I have been traveling around for a while, sometimes he has to battle with Inuyasha."

Kagome thought about it for a little while. "L-Lord Sesshomaru?"

The girl nodded.

Kagome gasped a little. "He's here. Oh no! He isn't going to start a fight with Inuyasha is he?"

Rin shook her head. "No. Lord Sesshomaru says that we were invited."

"Invited." Kagome thought for a few minutes. "Could I talk to Sesshomaru?"

"Lord Sesshomaru." Rin corrected her.

Kagome shrugged. "Can I talk to him?"

"Sure." Rin jumped to her feet. "Follow me." She started to run off into the woods.

Kagome was almost out of breath when they arrived at the camp. Sesshomaru was sitting against a tree. He looked up when he saw Rin coming, and noticed Kagome right behind her. He was a little surprised to see that she was pregnant. It wasn't something he noticed last night.

That's probably why I didn't smell her on Inuyasha he thought. "What do you want." His eyes narrowed on her.

"Rin told me that you were invited, is that why you're here?"

Jaken and Rin stood off to the side.

"No."

"Then why?"

Sesshomaru didn't answer. Kagome walked over to him. She had dealt with this kind of attitude when she first met Inuyasha, and she would be damned if she was gonna deal with it again.

When she was directly in front of him she got down on her knees and held Sesshomaru's face in her hands, forcing him to look directly at her. "Sesshomaru, why did you come?"

"It shouldn't matter to you."

"Inuyasha is my mate. If you've come to fight him I want to know?"

Once again Sesshomaru didn't answer. Kagome sighed and let go of his face. Jaken and Rin watched her closely; they had never seen someone treat Sesshomaru with such little respect (other then Inuyasha). "Sesshomaru. Tell me."

"I will not fall to the command of a human." He spat.

Kagome shook her head. "I was really hoping I wouldn't let it come to this." she grabbed the chain around her neck, placed the silver whistle in her mouth, and blew as hard as she could.

Sesshomaru didn't scream, but he gritted his teeth and covered his ears. Jaken and Rin were surprised. They didn't know what kind of witchcraft Kagome was doing to cause such pain to their lord.

"Okay!" Sesshomaru yelled out. "Just STOP!"

Kagome did. "Why are you here?"

"I came to see you."

"Me? Why?" Kagome spoke to him in a softer tone, but still held the whistle close to her mouth.

"Inuyasha said he had a mate. I wanted to know if he had picked a demon or a … human."

"But Rin said you were invited."

"We were. Sango invited me to the wedding."

"Why?" she leaned back a little to be more comfortable.

Sesshomaru shrugged.

Kagome let go of the whistle and tried to think. "It's probably about Kohaku." She mumbled.

"What?"

Kagome grabbed Sesshomaru's hand and looked directly into his eyes. "You and your brother have more in common then you think. You both try to act tough, but somewhere inside you both have a sweet side."

Sesshomaru snorted.

"It's true." Kagome laughed. "Otherwise, I'm sure you wouldn't be traveling around with Rin."

"Is there a point to this?" Sesshomaru asked angrily. He hated it when others pointed out that Rin traveled around with him, he didn't want anyone to think he was soft.

"Later on, Sango is going to ask for a favor. Please listen to her and consider giving her a chance. Even if she is human."

Sesshomaru looked away. He didn't want to agree to anything.

"I'll see you at the wedding, Rin." Kagome said. She stood up walked back to Kaede's house. Inuyasha was standing outside, leaning on one of the walls. He smiled when he saw Kagome.

"Your hair isn't wet." He said.

"I changed my mind about taking a bath." She walked up to Inuyasha and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Where's Sango."

"She's inside."

"Good."

Kagome stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. "D-Did I miss something?" he asked when they pulled apart.

"No. I just felt like kissing you."

Inuyasha leaned down and gave her a quick kiss before grabbing her arm and pulling her inside the house, "Come on. We've been waiting for you."

… … … … … … … … … …

Sango shifted her weight from one foot to the other nervously as she and Sonia waited in her house for Kagome to arrive. "Don't worry, she'll be here." Sonia said, trying to calm her down. Sango was already in her bridal clothes with her wedding starting in a little while.

"Where is she? She said she'd be here."

"She will." Sonia said. "She's probably just having a hard time getting Inuyasha and Shippo ready. You know how they hate to dress up."

Sango nodded. "I guess so."

… … … … … … … … … …

Kagome tapped her foot impatiently. "Come on Inuyasha! I'm late."

"Fine, but don't laugh." He mumbled from behind the tree.

"I won't. I just need to approve you before you got to Sango's wedding."

Inuyasha stepped out from hiding. Kagome smiled when she saw him. He was dressed in the formal clothing that Sango had told him to wear, he smelled nicer then usual, and even the little hairs on his ears seemed to be neatly groomed.

"Inuyasha you look amazing." Kagome kissed him.

"Thanks."

"Okay, go help Miroku get ready."

Inuyasha smiled and walked off.

… … … … … … … … … …

"I'm really sorry." Kagome burst through the door.

Sango gave a relived sigh. "Thank God. I can't get my hair just right."

"I've tried everything." Sonia said "But nothing seems to work."

"Don't worry." Kagome walked over to Sango. "Sit down I'll work on your hair."

Much to Sango's doubt it only took Kagome ten minutes to get it perfect, which was a good thing because the wedding was starting soon. Kagome took a step back when she was done and looked Sango over.

"You look so beautiful." She smiled warmly.

"Thanks."

The three girls helped each other fix little parts of their outfits and hair until they heard on knock at the front door. "Do you think that's Miroku?" Sango whispered. "He's not supposed to see me before the wedding."

"I'll check." Kagome said. Sango stood behind Sonia, just in case, while Kagome opened the door. She was surprised to see that it wasn't Miroku, but Sesshomaru standing there.

"It's you!" Sango exclaimed. "I was worried you wouldn't except my invitation."

Sesshomaru looked over at Sango. "What was the favor you wanted to ask me."

Sango steeped out from behind Sonia, "You already know about that."

"She, " he glanced to Kagome and back again "told me about it."

Sango gave Kagome a questioning look, but eventually shrugged it off.

Kagome allowed Sesshomaru enough room to come inside the house, but he didn't move. Sango sighed at that gesture and walked closer to him. "Sesshomaru, I really need you to help me."

"Help a human."

"Please, my brother has a jewel shard in his back. We need to get it out, but if do, he'll die."

"Let me guess, you want me to revive him after he dies."

Sango nodded.

"No." Sesshomaru said coldly, he still didn't want to seem soft.

Sango gasped. "Please." She pleaded with him. "As a wedding present."

Sesshomaru was about to say 'no' again, but he noticed Kagome. She touched her fingertips to the whistle while giving him a mean glare. This went unnoticed to Sonia and Sango, but Sesshomaru sure as hell saw it. His eyes grew a little bigger. "O-Okay… as a wedding present."

Sango squealed in delight and hugged Sesshomaru as tightly as she could. She was so happy. "You can do it after the wedding." She said once she let go of him.

Sonia suddenly exclaimed. "The wedding. Sango we need to go!"

Sonia grabbed Sango's arm and rushed past Sesshomaru. Kagome laughed at the sudden commotion then turned to Sesshomaru. "Thank you."

He nodded, but didn't answer.

"I guess you're staying for the wedding, huh."

"I was planning to anyway."

"Really."

He looked away. "Rin seemed really excited about it." Sesshomaru was surprised at himself. Normally wouldn't talk this much to someone, much less a human. But Kagome had some kind of power over people and demons. _This must be why my brother picked her as a mate _he thought to himself.

"Well," Kagome started to walk towards him. "we should go, the ceremony will be starting soon."

For the first time in a long long while Sesshomaru actually gave a very small smile and waited for Kagome to join him. She was at the door when she suddenly reached out and grabbed to doorframe.

"Is something wrong?" Sesshomaru asked.

Kagome grabbed her stomach and gave a small scream.

Shit Sesshomaru thought _what am I supposed to do._

Kagome screamed again and looked up at Sesshomaru. "Go get someone. Kaede, Sonia, anyone…" she pleaded.

Sesshomaru nodded and quickly went looking for a woman. It was hard, everyone had already gone to see the wedding.

… … … … … … … … … …

Inuyasha and Shippo both looked around. The ceremony had already started. They had saved a seat inbetween them for Kagome, but she wasn't there. They kept looking around for her, maybe she had found a different place to sit. But she was nowhere to be seen.

"Sango's gonna be upset if Kagome misses her wedding." Inuyasha whispered.

Shippo nodded in agreement.

Sango took a brief moment to look out at the people who attended her wedding. It seemed like the whole village came. She quickly found Rin sitting next to Kohaku, Kaede new to the two of them, Inuyasha and Shippo a few rows back, and Kagome — _Where's Kagome _she thought, but shrugged it off, thinking she was just lost in the crowed.

Kagome tried to stand up. It seemed like Sesshomaru had been gone forever, and this baby wasn't going to wait. _Just like your father, if you're aren't being stubborn, you're rushing everything_ she thought angrily. It took a great amount of effort, but she managed to stand up. Assuming she was on her own, Kagome had decided to try and get to Kaede's house. She thought she would receive more help there.

Little by little she walked. It was really hard. She clutched her stomach the whole way. _Gods, where is Sonia when I actually need her?_

When she did arrive at Kaede's house she was in tears, not only from the pain, but also the frustration of finding it empty. _Everyone is at the wedding, remember baka_ she told herself. She didn't want to ruin the wedding so she sat down in one of the corners, but once again he pain got to her and she started to sob into her hands. "Inuyasha." she mumbled.

Everyone smiled and clapped when Sango and Miroku were finally announced as man and wife. Inuyasha even gave a loud whistle to show his happiness. It seemed like a stampede when almost every guest wanted to talk to Sango, wish her happiness, but she pushed her way past them all and went straight to Inuyasha.

"So. What's it like to be married?" he smiled when she came.

"Wonderful." she laughed and hugged him. "Where's Kagome, I want to talk to her."

Inuyasha's smile faded a little while he looked around, but he still kept it on. "I don't know. I didn't see her anywhere."

"Y-You don't think she missed it... do you?"

"No. Something terrible would have to happen to keep Kagome from - " Inuyasha and Sango suddenly caught a view of Sesshomaru walking quickly up to Sonia whom was standing a long distance away from them.

He seemed to be talking to her quickly and pointing off in a direction. "Shit." Inuyasha said.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know. Let's find out."

Inuyasha and Sango ran over to Sesshomaru just as Sonia ran off in the direction he had pointed. "Sesshomaru." Inuyasha spoke "Is something wrong."

"I suggest you hurry little brother, you mate is about to have your pup."

Sango gasped. Inuyasha seemed to be in shock, because he didn't move until Sango lightly pushed him. "Go Inuyasha. I'll get Miroku and Kaede."

Inuyasha shook his head back into reality and nodded. He ran as fast as he could following Kagome's scent. He could tell that she was at Kaede's house and was surprised to see that Sonia wasn't there yet. He walked in and saw Kagome sitting on the floor crying.

"Kagome." He ran to her side, he didn't really know what to do.

Kagome screamed then looked at Inuyasha "I need Kaede, or Sonia, or Sango. Now!"

Almost on cue Sonia ran through the door. "She wasn't at Sango's house like Sesshomaru told me, otherwise I would have been here sooner." she told Inuyasha as she knelt down beside Kagome.

"W-What can I do."

"Go tell Kaede and Sango that Kagome is here, they might be heading in the wrong direction."

Inuyasha nodded and ran off to find them. He was amazed at how Sonia was able to keep a calm head.

Kagome looked up at Sonia. "T-The - " she tried to talk inbetween her sobs.

Sonia grabbed Kagome hand. "Don't worry. Kaede and Sango are on their way. Now ..." she took in a deep breath and signaled for Kagome to do the same, which she did, "... try to lay down."

She nodded and did so, but in the process she felt another contraction and screamed out.

Sonia ran her hand along the side of Kagome's face and tried to sooth her while they waited for the others.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Sango and Kaede ran to Kagome's side, all the men (Shippo, Kohaku, Miroku, and Inuyasha) were waiting outside. Even some villagers were near by, just in case they were needed.

"Sango" Sonia looked at the two women. "you gather up two buckets of hot water and as much sand that you can find." Sango nodded and ran off. "Kaede…"

"I know… some blankets." It wasn't the first time Kaede had helped out with a delivery.

"Yeah. Make sure one of them is one you don't mind throwing away."

Outside the men were all wondering why Sango was running in and out of Kaede's house to get certain things.

"Is something wrong with Kagome?" Shippo asked when she passed him by.

"No. Kagome's fine."

Inuyasha sat in a near by tree looking down at his claws. He was able to pick up every single scream that came from Kagome and in tore up his insides every time. A while ago he thought it would be nice to have more then one pup, but if Kagome had to go through this kind of pain … he wasn't so sure.

It seemed to take forever. Inuyasha would sink his claws into the tree. His Kagome was in pain and there was nothing he could do. It wasn't till much later when he heard a loud scream that made him cringe… then it was over.

Everything went silent for a little while until Sango and Sonia walked out of the house. "You can go in now." They told Inuyasha.

He rushed past them as soon as they said that.

Miroku grabbed Sango's hand, "Is Kagome all right?"

"Yeah, she's fine."

"So …"

"What?"

"Is it a boy or a girl?"

"It's a …"

… … … … … … … … … …

I'm so evil. I couldn't help it. I had to leave a cliffy. _An evil cliffy._ I want five reviews, until then …

Sorry there wern't that many details about the wedding or the birth, but I didn't have time.

Happy Birthday Captured Moon

Lots of love DD62386

(ha ha ha ha)


	43. Ginsenshi

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

****

Notes to my reviewers: That was kinnda mean of me to make up for it, this chapter won't be a cliffy.

Eekolie: I'm so evil because it's so much fun.

NordicaVB: I did have a part taken out during editing it said: _When she blew on the whistle, Kagome was surprised to feel the baby kicking and moving around inside of her. It pained her heart, but she needed to get Sesshomaru to talk._ I ended up taking it out because I didn't want the readers to think I was trying to harm a small baby. I'm glad you noticed that.

Gamemasta: ::Gasp:: How on earth did you figure out that I'm secretly Naraku, leaving cliffhangers to torture innocent readers (lol). That is a really good idea for a story. Almost too good. I don't think I could possibly do it justice. If you wrote a story like that I would definitely read it.

Captured Moon: ::taps fingers impatiently against computer desk:: sigh.

****

Chapter Forty Three: Ginsenshi

Inuyasha walked quickly in the room. Kagome was off to the side, asleep. "She used up a lot of energy, but she'll be fine." Sonia said. She was standing not that far from Inuyasha holding the baby, it was wrapped in the dark green blanket with the cat and the dog Kagome received for her birthday.

She walked over to Inuyasha and placed the baby in his arms. "It's a boy." She smiled. "A healthy baby boy. You should be proud."

Inuyasha smiled and looked down at the little baby. He was amazed at how small it's ears, nose, and fingers were.

"What's his name?" Kaede asked.

"Ginsenshi."

"Hello Ginsenshi." Sonia shook the baby's little hand. "Happy birthday."

Inuyasha sat down next to Kagome. The news that both his mate and new pup were healthy gave him a happiness that only compared to the first time Kagome said I love you'. Ginsenshi soon fell asleep in his arms. "Thanks Sonia, Thanks Kaede."

Kaede nodded and walked outside to tell everyone who was still waiting the good news. Sonia was about to follow her, but Inuyasha stopped her.

"Sonia."

"Yes?"

"I hope you know, this means I consider you part of our family."

Sonia laughed and nodded. "Congratulations Inuyasha." She squeezed his arm and walked out.

Inuyasha looked down at Kagome sleeping. Her eyes twitched a little bit before opening up. "Inuyasha?" she mumbled sleepily.

"Yeah."

She sat up slowly. _God, I'm sore_ she silently complained. She leaned against Inuyasha and looked down at her baby. Ginsenshi had fallen asleep in Inuyasha's arms and was now sucking on one of his fingers. "Isn't he wonderful." She cooed.

"Perfect." Inuyasha said. "Just like his mom."

Kagome smiled, she was too tired to blush at his compliment. "I hope Sango isn't mad at me."

"Mad? At what?"

"I kind of ruined her big day."

"What do you mean."

"This was supposed to be Sango's special day and I stole all the attention away from her."

Inuyasha snorted. "You didn't go into labor on purpose did you?"

"N-No."

"So it wasn't your fault."

Kagome reached out to hold her newborn baby. Inuyasha, though reluctantly, handed him over. He watched Kagome examine Ginsenshi's small fingers for a little while before clearing his throat. "You should go to bed."

"I just want to stay up a little while longer." She said, not taking her eyes away from the baby.

"Trust me, we should take every chance to sleep that we get."

Kagome smiled, he did have a point. She laid back down on her little bed with Ginsenshi curled up in her arms. Inuyasha watched her for a little while till Kohaku, Shippo, and Kaede walked in. Kohaku had planned on spending the night with them to give Sango and Miroku their privacy.

Shippo and Kohaku started to walk over to Kagome so they could see the new baby, but stopped when Inuyasha growled at them. He didn't want them to wake up either Kagome or the baby.

"I'm glad it's a boy." Shippo whispered before falling asleep in his own bed. "I always wanted a little brother."

****

Sango blushed as she got closer and closer to her house. Miroku, who was a few feet ahead of her, turned around and glanced back. "What a nice shade of red." He said, causing her blush to become darker.

****

Kagome was the first one to wake up when Ginsenshi started crying. She stood up and walked outside before he had a chance to wake anyone else up. She carried the child, rocking him back and forth, till she made her way to the stream. She sat down and soaked her feet in the water and brought the baby to her breast.

She stroked the back of the baby's head while he sucked greedily. "Here you are." Kagome turned her head sharply when she heard Inuyasha's voice behind her.

"You scared me."

"You scared me first."

"What?"

He sat down beside her. "I woke up and you and Ginsenshi were missing."

"He cried, so I had to feed him."

"You could have done that in Kaede's house."

"I didn't want to wake up the others."

Inuyasha looked down at Ginsenshi. His eyes grew wide for a second before blushing and looking away. Kagome laughed. "What's wrong Inuyasha. Didn't you know how women feed babies."

He shook his head.

"You didn't think my breast were only for your amusement did you?"

He nodded, still not looking at her.

When the baby had his fill she covered herself up again and stood up. "It's safe to look now."

Inuyasha stood up. "You're right. Maybe that isn't something you shouldn't do at Kaede's house."

Kagome laughed even harder.

****

Several Months Later

Sango struggled with Ginsenshi as the two girls sat in the grass. The child had been trying his hardest to get out of Sango's arms, it turned out that he didn't like being held all the time. "I don't know how on earth you handle this."

Kagome laughed. "Just rub his ears."

The little baby had grown a lot. Without telling Kagome or Inuyasha, the others had made a little bet on what features he would get from which parent. Kohaku was the one that won. Ginsenshi had black hair and brown eyes like his mother. The only things he had received from his father were his ears and his little (not very sharp yet) claws and fangs.

Sango reached down and tried it, but it didn't work. As soon as she touched them Ginsenshi start kicking and screaming even louder. Giving a frustrated sigh, she gave up and handed him over to Kagome.

Kagome took the baby in her arms and started rubbing his ears the way he preferred. Sango watched Ginsenshi calm down and let out a groan. "I'll never make a good mother."

"Don't worry. Ginsenshi is fussier then most babies. It took me a while to figure this little one out." She set her son on the ground so that he could crawl around trying to catch grasshoppers.

Kagome yawned and stretched out in the grass.

"Are you alright?" Sango asked.

"Fine."

Sango shifted nervously for a few seconds, "K-Kagome. Could I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Are you still planning on going after Kikyo?"

Kagome was silent for a long time before she finally spoke. "I have to. She has the rest of the jewel."

After Sesshomaru revived Kohaku, they knew where all the jewel shards were. Kagome had some and Kikyo had the rest.

"You aren't still planning on going alone, are you!"

"It's the safest way. You guys will stay out of danger."

"But what about Inuyasha. He could protect you."

Kagome sighed. "A part of Inuyasha still cares about Kikyo. He shouldn't have to fight her."

"But I -"

Kagome sat up. "You promised you wouldn't tell the others. Remember."

Sango nodded.

Kagome stood up and picked up Ginsenshi. "Besides. Inuyasha should stay here and take care of Ginsenshi."

"You could at least tell him."

"I know, I know." She started walking away. Sango stood up and joined her.

"Where are we going?"

Kagome laughed. "_We_ are going to see Inuyasha. He and Miroku have been working all day."

"It will be so nice when you live closer to me."

"Yeah."

A little while after Ginsenshi was born Inuyasha, Miroku, and some of the other villagers had started working on a house for Kagome. They had been working extra hard to get it done quickly and it was almost done. In the long run, Kagome knew it would be nice having a house just for her and Inuyasha, but at the moment it was killing her.

Inuyasha usually worked all day and stayed out late night to do some heavy lifting. Kagome would wake up to feed and care for Ginsenshi during the night, so she was always in deep deep sleep by morning. The two didn't get to see each other much.

Sango and Miroku commented on this to Inuyasha, telling him that Kagome felt bad, but he just feh'd it away. He was planning on making it up to her after the house was built.

It didn't take them very long to reach it. Miroku and some of the villagers were working hard on finishing up one of the walls and Inuyasha was on the roof, trying to find the damn spot that leaked.

"Inuyasha." Kagome called out.

The hanyou looked up from his work and smiled when he saw Kagome. He jumped off the roof landing a few feet from her and grabbed Ginsenshi from her arms. Sometimes it surprised Kagome – how Inuyasha acted with the baby. A lot of men in the village didn't want to be seen holding a child in their arms while around other men. Something about masculinity, Kagome never completely understood it. But Inuyasha was always more then happy to take Ginsenshi and play with him, or show him off.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I wanted to come see you."

Inuyasha used his only free hand to grab Kagome's. "Come on. I want to show you something."

Kagome allowed him to pull her inside their, half build, house. "What is it?" she asked while holding in her laughter.

"This is gonna be Ginsenshi's room." Inuyasha said, "and next to it, on that side -" he continued to pull her around, "is were Shippo will stay."

"Is that what you wanted to show me."

Inuyasha shook his head. "No, come on." He led her to the main room. It had three windows. Two in front near the door and one at the side. "Look through that one." He said pointing to the one at the side.

Kagome walked up to in and looked out. At first she didn't see what was so unique about it. Then it came to her. Though the tree was still a distance away, the window framed the old Goshinboku perfectly. She stared at it for a long time before she noticed that Inuyasha was standing next to her.

"I thought you would like it." he said in a voice no higher then a whisper.

Kagome sighed and grabbed his hand. "You know me so well."

He chuckled. "Are you kidding. There are a million things about you that confuse me."

Ginsenshi started making whimpering sounds. The two looked down at him. "He's probably hungry." Kagome said, picking him up. "I'll go feed him." she kissed Inuyasha quickly on his cheek before walking out.

As she left, Inuyasha noticed something about her that he hadn't seen before. _She looks tired_ he thought_ really tired._ He leaned against the window frame and sighed. He was starting to feel a little bad at the lack of time he was spending with her.

****

Sango wrapped her arms around Kohaku and Miroku when they arrived home. She had been waiting for them all day. Kagome had disappeared with Kaede sometime around noon and with the men working on the house, she had been alone.

"I'm gonna go with Shippo to the stream." Kohaku said. "We're going fishing."

"Okay." Sango laughed as he ran out of the house.

Miroku watched the boy run for a few seconds before turning to Sango. "Here." He handed her some flowers and kissed her quickly.

"There beautiful." She said looking at the flowers. "Where did you find them."

Miroku shrugged, "Around."

Sango let a small giggle escape from her lips. "You sure know how to treat a girl, don't you."

Miroku smiled and brought Sango closer. He waited till he could see the little blush on her cheeks before leaning down to kiss her. Sango wrapped her arms around his neck, opening her mouth for him.

"Am I interrupting anything." Inuyasha's voice caused the two to pull apart quickly.

"What are you doing here?" Sango asked, noticing that he had Ginsenshi with him.

"I need to ask you two a favor." He set the child down, allowing him to crawl around.

"What is it?"

"C-Could you guys babysat for a little while."

"For how long?" Miroku asked.

"About a week."

Sango smiled. She would have said yes even if he said a year. "Sure. Why?"

"Kagome needs a rest. I'm gonna take her to her era for a little while."

"How'd you get her to agree to that?" Miroku was impressed. Kagome hated being away from Ginsenshi for more then a few minutes, much less a week.

"I haven't yet."

Sango laughed. "She's not gonna enjoy leaving her son behind."

"I'm not gonna enjoy it either." Inuyasha shrugged. "But she really needs some time off. I'll see you guys in a week." He turned, gave a quick glance to Ginsenshi, and headed out the door to Kaede's house.

"Where's Ginsenshi?" Kagome asked instantly when Inuyasha walk into the house. She was sitting next to Kaede holding a sting up with her hands while Kaede placed beads on it.

"Don't tell me your making another one of those." Inuyasha moaned.

Kagome laughed. "No. This is just a regular necklace. Where is Ginsenshi?"

"Miroku and Sango are watching him. Come on. Pack your things."

"What?"

"Pack your things."

"Why?"

"You and I are going somewhere."

"Not without Ginsenshi."

Inuyasha let out a sigh. He didn't feel up to an argument today. He walked past Kagome and started tossing her things inside her yellow backpack. When he was finished he tossed it over one shoulder, grabbed Kagome around the waist, and tossed her over his other shoulder too.

"We'll be back in a week." He told Kaede as he walked out of the house.

"Inuyasha! Put me down."

"No."

"Please." She tried to sound pathetic.

"No."

"Why not?"

"You'll just run away."

Kagome stopped struggling. _Damn he's right _she thought.

Inuyasha laughed, knowing he won, and jumped down the well.****

Inuyasha didn't let Kagome down until they were well on her side, only a few feet from her front door. Once her feet were on the ground she looked longingly at the well. She thought about running back and finding Ginsenshi, but she knew Inuyasha would stop her. "It's gonna be hell without him here."

Inuyasha nodded and pulled her inside the house. "I know, but you really need some rest. When was the last time you got a good nights rest?"

Kagome didn't answer.

"I thought so." He mumbled.

Kagome's mom heard his voice and came running out of the kitchen. "Kagome." she wrapped her arms around her daughter. "It's been a while."

Kagome smiled and gave into her mother's hug. More and more time was passing inbetween her visits.

"Did you bring Ginsenshi?"

"No."

A small sigh escaped her lips. "Oh well" She walked over and gave Inuyasha hug too. "Bring him by next time, okay."

Inuyasha and Kagome both nodded.

****

Okay. No cliffhanger. As much as I love leaving cliffhangers, I didn't turn this chapter into one. I meant to put in a lemon for Miroku and Sango's wedding night, but (as many of you know) a person needs to be in the right mood to write a proper lemon. I'll put one in later.

I want 5 reviews.

__

Crying Crystal Teardrops: Sorry, I guess this means you don't get a cookie. Umm German?

Lots of love DD62386 


	44. Reminder

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

****

Notes to my reviewers: Sorry guys, but this chapter isn't going to be very long.

Baby G: I've never denied someone who got down on their knees and said please and I'll be damned if I start now.

ChicaCubana: Sure, why the hell not.

Paige: Yay!!! I have a number one fan!! ::smile::

Gamemasta: Oops.

Inufreak831: I forgive you this time. I'll have to think of a way to shorten the name without making it seem totally stupid. Hugs, giggles, and bubbles.

Sapphire66: I'm sorry for taking up two precious days of your life.

Alex: I love your reviews they're so well thought out and articulated.

Captured Moon: I don't miss Vegas. Every time I go there, I end up having some kind of car trouble. I'm not joking. EVERY TIME! I did get that same feeling of hearing a familiar voice'. I kinnda think it is Rachel's voice, but I'll have to watch it again to make sure. Hmm I don't think I ever kissed a cat on the mouth before I think, but tomorrow is another day. Thanks to my brothers, my cats run like hell every time people walk into the room.

****

Chapter Forty Four: Reminder

Inuyasha groaned when the sunlight woke him up. It was the last day of his and Kagome's week off. It surprised him, how much he needed the time off. It started out as a break for Kagome, but it helped him too. Hoping to get another hour of sleep or so he rolled onto his side and reached out for Kagome.

His eyes opened and he sat up when he realized that she wasn't there. _Where the hell is she_ he asked himself. Even though the sun was up, it was still pretty early in the morning.

"Kagome." He got out of bed, wearing some pajama bottoms that Kagome's mom had bought for him.

He walked out of the room and down to the kitchen, but she wasn't there. He took a glance out of the window and saw that the cars where gone. "I wonder where everyone went." He mumbled as he went from room to room checking for Kagome.

Inuyasha was about to give up looking a go back to sleep when he heard a splashing sound coming from the bathroom near Kagome's bedroom. _Baka _he scolded himself as he walked up the stairs _that should have been your first guess._

He opened the door slowly and poked his head in. Kagome was relaxing in the bathtub, filled with suds and bubbles, listening to her CD player. Inuyasha smirked and made his way over to her.

Kagome splashed her toes in the water humming along to her song, obviously not aware that Inuyasha was only a few feet away from her. When she eventually did open her eyes she nearly screamed. "Don't scare me like that!"

Inuyasha smirked, but didn't move. Kagome blushed and covered herself up, though it was pointless considering how thick the bubbles and suds were. Inuyasha couldn't have taken a look at her, even if he wanted too.

"Where is everyone."

Kagome pulled off her headphones and dropped them beside the tub. "Souta and Grandpa went on their boys night trip' and mama went to work."

"Boys night out?"

"Yeah. Usually they just go to a soccer game or something like that. They've been doing it every first Wednesday of the month for years."

Inuyasha ran his claws gently along her cheek, causing her to blush even deeper. "After all this time, you're still shy."

"N-No. I'm just in the middle of a bath."

"So."

Kagome laughed. "Okay lover boy. Let me finish my bath and I just might forget to put my bath robe on when I walk into the bedroom."

Inuyasha kissed her forehead quickly and walked out of the room, glancing back at her once more before shutting the door. Kagome laughed and dunked her head under the thick layer of bubbles and relaxed under the hot water for a few minutes before her lungs cried out for air.

She took a deep breath and got out of the tub. She knew that Inuyasha was waiting for her, it would have been rude to take a long time. Plus, he might have tried to barge back in. She put on her robe and walked quickly to her bedroom. Her door was already opened and she could see Inuyasha sitting in the window frame looking outside.

Inuyasha turned when he heard Kagome walk in. After the disappointment of seeing that she had kept her robe on, he smiled. He remembered a while ago when Kagome stood in that same spot in her bathrobe with her wet hair on her shoulders. Before they had become mates.

"Finished?"

"No. I'm taking an intermission."

Inuyasha let a slight laugh escape him as he walked over to Kagome. He brushed her wet hair aside so he could kiss along her neck. "You lied." He mumbled between his kisses.

"When?"

"You wore your robe."

Kagome giggled and put on an, obviously fake, innocent look. "Dear me, I must have forgotten."

"Baka." Inuyasha replied. He moved over to the other side of her neck and continued to nip at it. Kagome gasped when he hit the sensitive spot that sent chills up her spine and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Inuyasha smirked at her reaction and met her lips with his own. A content growl escaped him when she parted her lips for him, it had been too long since he had really gotten to taste her. One of his hands pushed a little on her lower back, bringing her closer to him. While the other hand slipped inside her robe to cup one of her breast.

Kagome moaned, but the sound was muffled by Inuyasha's mouth. She couldn't take it any longer. After closing the door with her foot, she tugged a little on the hem of Inuyasha's pajama pants. Inuyasha laughed, but caught the hint and dragged Kagome over to the bed.

He laid her down on the bed and moved so he was over her. Keeping himself up on his elbows and knees so he wouldn't crush her. He stayed there for a little while, just staring at Kagome. _I don't deserve her_ he thought. As if she was responding by telling him that he did deserve her, Kagome reached up and rubbed one of his ears.

Inuyasha growled deeply and met Kagome's lips again. His hands untied Kagome's bathrobe and opened it. He took a second to look down at her body before tossing the rove completely aside and kissing along her neck.

Kagome rubbed her hands along Inuyasha's back. Her need to touch him was growing more and more by the second. "Inuyasha" she mumbled his name and tugged at his pants again. She used one hand to reach inside his pants to stroke his length. Inuyasha shuddered at the amount pleasure going through his body.

He groaned a little and pushed himself off of Kagome. She was a little confused until she realized that he only did it, so that he could pull his pajama pants off. Kagome blushed and closed her eyes. She kept them shut tight until Inuyasha kissed her forehead. She looked up and found herself bathing in the beautiful amber color of his eyes.

Inuyasha gave Kagome another kiss before thrusting into her. They both shared a moan. Kagome ran her fingers through Inuyasha hair as he started a pace, thrusting in and out. She kissed and nipped along his neck, hoping it would persuade him to go faster. Her body was yearning for him.

Kagome wrapped her legs around his waist and met each thrust with her hips. "Inuyasha." She practically pleaded. He growled a little and sped up to grant her request, putting a little more force behind his thrust. Kagome let go of his hair and grabbed the sheets beneath her while letting her moans fill the room. _Thank god my family went out for breakfast_ she thought to herself. She hated having to worry about the level of her voice while in the moment's passion.

Inuyasha broke her thoughts when he covered her mouth with his own again. Taking in all the sounds she was making. Both their tongues fought for dominance, both of them trying to prove how much they loved each other.

It didn't take much longer till Kagome felt the familiar warm feeling in her stomach. She reached up with one hand and rubbed his ear and tightened her grip around his waist. Inuyasha heard her unsteady breath and gave her the last few thrust that sent her over the edge. She through her head back and screamed out his name. The sound of his name being screamed by Kagome through him over the edge too.

Inuyasha took a second to catch his breath and moved so that he was beside Kagome. "Good thing your family wasn't here, huh."

Kagome laughed and snuggled closer to him, letting out a small yawn. Inuyasha pulled the blanket over them and wrapped his arms around her. "You can sleep, if you want." He said, nuzzling his face in her neck.

Kagome closed her eyes and, once again, fell asleep to the sound of Inuyasha's heartbeat.

****

Shippo sighed and leaned back against the wall. "Is something wrong?" Sango asked. She was bouncing Ginsenshi on her lap, trying to get him to smile. She didn't regret agreeing to watch him for a week, she was just having a really hard time getting the baby to smile. He seemed to miss his parents a lot.

"Kagome has been gone too long."

"Kagome and Inuyasha needed sometime to themselves."

"Feh." Shippo crossed his arms. Sango bit her lip and tried to not laugh. Shippo had just done, what she thought was, the perfect impression of Inuyasha.

"What!" he looked up at her.

"Nothing." She said.

Miroku and Kohaku both entered the room at the same time. "Has he smiled yet?" Miroku asked as soon at he sat down.

"No." Sango looked down at Ginsenshi.

Ginsenshi watched Sango's hands move around as she spoke to Miroku and Kohaku. Eventually he reached up with his little hand and grabbed one of her fingers. "Something wrong GinGin." Sango said. The small boy just took the finger and sucked on it.

"GinGin?"

"Yeah, it's easier to say then Ginsenshi. Don't you think?"

Miroku shrugged. "I guess."

Ginsenshi stopped sucking on Sango's finger and kept wiggling till he was set down on the floor again. "Does he ever sit still?" Kohaku asked.

"No." Sango said.

Ginsenshi looked around for a little bit then decided to crawl over to Shippo. The little fox demon didn't know what to think. Ginsenshi crawled into Shippo's lap and gave a very cute yawn before going to sleep.

"Seems that he likes you." Miroku said.

Shippo blushed and looked down at the baby.

****

Inuyasha jerked awake when he heard the phone ring. It always hurt his ears, so he hated it when Kagome decided to put one next to the bed. "Shut up." He mumbled. "You'll wake up Kagome."

But the phone didn't stop ringing and Kagome sat up. She reached over and picked it up while still holding the blanket to cover herself.

"Hello?" Her voice still sounded sleepy.

"Kagome!" The loud voice of Ayumi's startled her. Kagome had to hold the phone s small distance from her ear for a little while.

"Yes?"

"Wow, I didn't think I'd actually get to talk to you."

"What do you mean?"

"Yuri and Eri haven't been able to get a hold of you in a long time. Not since your mom starting doing homeschool."

"Oh."

"So what are you doing today. The three of us were going to go to a movie. If you want to come -"

"Can't."

"What? Why not?"

"I've got to get ready for a trip I'm taking."

"Where are you going?"

Inuyasha got out of the bed and pulled on his pajama pants. He decided it would be better to find something to eat rather then listen to one half of a conversation between two girls. He made his way downstairs to the kitchen and looked for a package of Ramen.

"Oh. Inuyasha."

He turned around as Kagome's mom walked in the room. "I thought you were at work." He continued searching for the Ramen.

"I'm on my lunch break. I figured you and Kagome might leave by the time I get off work, so I should say goodbye now."

"Where do you keep all the Ramen?"

Kagome's mom laughed and walked over the cabinet next to the one Inuyasha was looking through and pulled one out. "I'll make it for you."

"T-Thanks."

"Is Kagome awake?" she asked casually as she poured hot water in the cup.

Inuyasha rubbed his forehead. "Yeah. She's on the phone with someone."

"Oh, I thought I heard it ringing."

She handed Inuyasha the cup of Ramen just as Kagome walked into the kitchen. Fully dressed, hair in place, even a little bit of make up on. Inuyasha's jaw dropped. _How did she get ready so quickly_ he asked himself.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome looked at him. "What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing." He shook his head and started eating the Ramen.

"When are you two going to leave."

"Are you in such a rush to get rid of me, mama."

Kagome's mom laughed. "No. But I'm sure Ginsenshi misses you."

Kagome sighed as she poured herself a cup a tea. "You're probably right. I guess will leave as soon as I'm done packing."

"Alright." Kagome's mom glanced down at her watch. "I should go. My lunch break is almost over."

"Bye mama." Kagome hugged her.

Kagome's mom smiled and gave Inuyasha a quick hug too, "Next time, bring my grandson around."

"Okay."

****

Ginsenshi, whom had spent most of the day sleeping in Shippo's lap, suddenly sat up and sniffed the air before crawling towards the door.

"Where is he going?" Kohaku asked.

Sango stood up and looked out the door. She smiled when she saw Inuyasha and Kagome walking towards them. "Your back!" she squealed happily.

Kagome laughed and picked up her son. "Did you miss me?" she asked the little baby. For the first time since they had gone away, Ginsenshi actually smiled and curled up in his mother's arms.

Inuyasha sat down next to Shippo and leaned against the wall. "Hey runt."

Shippo smiled. He was really happy that Kagome and Inuyasha had come back. "What took you guys so long."

Inuyasha snorted. "We were enjoying our time off. It's nice to sleep in."

"That reminds me. I hope Ginsenshi didn't give you guys much trouble."

"Hardly any." Miroku lied. Ginsenshi had woken them up early in the morning, but they knew that if they wanted to be parent someday they would have to get used to it.

Kagome rubbed her son's ears and stood up. "I think I'll give him a bath." She said before walking out.

Inuyasha watched her leave, then turned to Miroku. "I guess I should go work on our house or something."

"Yeah. There's still some time. I'll go get the other villagers and meet you there."

"Okay."

Sango leaned towards Shippo, "I didn't take them long to fall into their normal schedule, did it." she whispered. Shippo laughed and nodded in agreement.

****

Kagome carried the child down to the hot springs. The entire time Ginsenshi kept reaching up and pulling on her hair. "Ah! that hurts." She said, grabbing his hand and placing a kiss on it.

She quickly undressed the baby and placed him in the water. He laughed and splashed around. Kagome rubbed some baby shampoo in his hair, careful to avoid his ears. She remembered the first time she gave him a bath. Soap had gotten in his ears. It must have stung because he cried and cried until the bath was over.

She used handfuls of water to wash the shampoo out. "You're first birthday is coming us soon." She said, knowing full well that Ginsenshi probably didn't know what she was talking about.

Kagome lifted him out of the water and dried him off before putting on some clean clothing. Ginsenshi reached over and grabbed the jewel hanging around Kagome neck. She looked down at it and he tried to stick it in his mouth. Then Kagome started to remember her task.

__

One year she thought_ I've delayed my face off with Kikyo for too long. I need the rest of the jewel._ She lifted Ginsenshi onto her hip and started walking back to the village. "I'll leave tonight." she said out loud.

****

::Yawn:: I'm too tired to write anything witty here sorry. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I want nine reviews.

::yawn:: I'm gonna go sleep now

Lots of Love (from a very sleepy) DD62386


	45. Another Traveler

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

****

Chapter Forty Five: Another Traveler

Kagome opened her eyes and looked around the room that she and Inuyasha used. Shippo and Ginsenshi were sleeping soundly on their mats. _Now or never_ she thought. Almost on cue Inuyasha's arms tightened around her. Kagome moved her head to the side, just to make sure he was still asleep. Much to her surprise, she met two amber eyes staring back at her.

"You should be asleep." He mumbled.

Kagome rubbed his ears and listen to his content growl. "I have to go to the bathroom."

Inuyasha chuckled and let go of her. "Don't take to long."

Kagome stood up and walked towards the door leading to the hallway. She paused for a second and turned to look down at Inuyasha. "P-Promise you won't follow me."

Inuyasha snorted, "Why would I follow you to the bathroom."

"Promise you won't follow."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Alright. I promise."

"Thanks." Kagome said quickly before walking into the hall. She had set her yellow backpack out their earlier, so Inuyasha and Shippo wouldn't wonder why she was taking it.

"Kagome?" She spun suddenly on her heel when she heard a voice behind her, but let out a relived sigh when she saw it was only Kohaku.

"Go back to bed." She whispered.

"I know what you're doing."

Kagome froze. "What do you mean."

"I know that you're going off to fight Kikyo."

Kagome took a step towards him. "How did you find out."

"I'm not stupid. I put two and two together."

Kagome looked towards the room that Inuyasha was in. "Y-You won't tell him, will you"

Kohaku shook his head. "I won't get the chance."

"What do you mean."

"I'm going with you."

Kagome almost yelled out no', but she didn't want to wake anyone up. She bit her bottom lip before speaking again. "Why?"

"You're my sisters best friend, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I sat by and let you go off to face danger alone."

"Won't Sango be upset when she find out you're gone."

Kohaku tilted his head to the side. "Won't Inuyasha be upset when he finds out _you're_ gone."

Kagome saw a look in his eyes that she often saw in Sango's. The look hat said, I'm not giving up without a fight'. "Fine." She shrugged. "You can come. But if things get to dangerous, I'm sending you back."

"You can try."

Kagome laughed and tossed her yellow backpack over her shoulder. "Are you ready to leave."

"Yeah, I have some supplies waiting outside."

"Good. Let's go."

With very little talking, the two of the left Sango's house and Kaede's village as quietly as they could. Disappearing in the middle of the night.

****

Inuyasha opened his eyes and lifted his head up to check on Ginsenshi. He was still sleeping soundly on his little bed, a rare thing in the morning. The sun already lit up the room, but Inuyasha still didn't want to wake up. So he rolled over and reached out to pull Kagome closer to him.

It took him a few seconds to realize that no matter how far he stretched his arm, he couldn't feel her. His eyes snapped open and he saw that Kagome was gone. At first it didn't bug him. Kagome had gotten into the habit of waking up before him. Normally she would be in the main room with Sango, making breakfast.

He pushed himself off the floor and walked out of the room. "Where's Kagome?" he asked as soon as he saw Sango sitting in front of a giant pot.

Sango sat back on her heal and seemed to think about something for a few seconds. "She wasn't with you when you woke up?"

"If she was, then I wouldn't be asking you this, would I!"

Sango looked down into the pot again. "I-I don't know. Maybe she went for a walk."

Inuyasha crouched down in his dog position and stared at the floor. "I guess so." He mumbled, with a hint of sadness in his voice. Sango felt a little guilty. She knew that Kagome had probably gone off to fight with Kikyo and it pained her to see that look on Inuyasha's face.

"Do you want some breakfast?" She asked.

Inuyasha shook his head. "I'll wait for Kagome to get here."

Sango shook her head. "Are you sure you want to do that. Who knows how long her walk could take."

Inuyasha looked up at her. He could tell that she knew something, but before he got a chance to ask, the sound of Ginsenshi's cries hit his ears. He stood up and walked into the bedroom. He picked up Ginsenshi and held him high enough to look him straight in the eyes. "Something wrong?"

The small child stopped crying and stared at his father. Inuyasha smirked, Ginsenshi had never simply stopped crying instantly. At least not around him. He carried him out of the room to where Sango was and set the child on the ground next to him as he took his seat.

Miroku and Shippo were both in the room now too. Ginsenshi sat next to his father and looked around. Sango noticed this. If she didn't know better she would have sworn that he was looking for Kagome.

"Where's Kohaku?" Inuyasha asked as he took a bowl from Sango. He had decided to eat now instead of waiting for Kagome. The food smelt really good.

Sango looked around, as if she was just realizing that he wasn't there. "I don't know."

Miroku gave a fake cough. "Kohaku." He looked directly at Sango. "went on that walk' with Kagome." Kohaku had confided his plans to Miroku a while ago, and just like Sango, He had promised not to tell anyone.

Sango's eyes grew wide. "What!"

"What's the big deal?" Inuyasha asked sarcastically, "It's just a walk, isn't it?"

Sango looked from Inuyasha to Miroku and back again. "Y-Yeah. A walk. I'm sure they'll be back later tonight."

"That's one hell of a walk." Shippo said.

****

Kagome woke up to the smell of meat cooking. She rubbed her eyes and rolled over, expecting to see Inuyasha. Until she remembered that they had left. As soon as they were well out of Kaede's village, she and Kohaku set up camp and slept the rest of the night.

"I made you some" Kohaku said when he noticed that Kagome had woken.

She pushed herself up and looked over at him. He had all his sleeping gear packed, ready to go. "You didn't have to cook."

He shook his head and handed her a plate full of rabbit meat. Kagome picked at it a little, but didn't eat much. She was feeling really bad about leaving Inuyasha, Ginsenshi, and Shippo behind without a single word.

"Kagome," Kohaku saw the emotionless look on her face. "could I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"W-Why did you want to travel in secret? Why couldn't Inuyasha help you?"

Kagome set the food down, her appetite was now completely gone. "Inuyasha shouldn't have to fight Kikyo."

Sango had told Kohaku about the relationship that Kikyo and Inuyasha once had. He shook his head. "Are you sure that's the reason you didn't want him to come"

"What do you mean?"

"I think you were just scared of how Inuyasha would act around Kikyo. Scared that he would still have feelings for her."

Kagome hugged her knees and thought about it. That thought alone had woken her up in the middle of the night many times before. "Come on. We should get going." She mumbled. She packed up her bedroll and started the trip again, without ever making eye contact with Kohaku.

They stayed silent for a long time, until Kohaku coughed. "I'm sorry Kagome. I didn't mean to make you feel bad."

Kagome smiled, though it seemed a little fake. "It's okay. I'm just feeling bad because Ginsenshi's birthday is in a week, and I might miss it."

Kohaku grabbed her hand. "Then we should hurry." He winked once and started running. Kagome, for the first time all day, gave a genuine laugh.

****

Sango walked over to the sleeping mat in her bedroom. Miroku was already in it. "What's wrong?" he asked.

She snuggled in beside him. "I'm just worried about Kohaku." She said quietly.

Miroku brought her closer to him and used one hand to rub her back. That had always comforted her in the past. "Not me. I'm kinda happy he went."

"Why?" she seemed a little shocked.

"He can protect Kagome."

Sango nodded. She hadn't been happy about the decision Kagome had made earlier about going alone. But she still wished Inuyasha had gone with her instead. He was much stronger.

When that thought hit her a few tears were able to escape from her eyes. After her entire village was destroyed, she waited so long to see her brother again. She couldn't lose him now.

"Sango. Don't cry." Miroku pleaded. He leaned his head towards her a little and kissed every spot on her face that tears had appeared. Sango closed her eyes and welcomed the feel of Miroku's lips. When he was satisfied that her eyes were once again dry, he lifted his head and looked down at her.

"Sango," he said softly "someone so beautiful shouldn't be so sad."

Sango looked up at Miroku and smiled. She didn't know how he was able to know just the right thing to say, but he did. There must have been a look of need in her eyes that she hadn't been able to conceal, because Miroku smirked and met her lips. Deepening it, and making it more and more passionate.

Sango gasped when she felt Miroku's hand moving under her clothing to cup her breast. "You have cold hands." She laughed.

"Good thing I know how to warm them up."

Sango laughed as his icy cold hands moved along her stomach, back, butt, and to her breast again until they were once again warm. He sat up for a second to pull off his shirt before moving back over her, to kiss along her neck. Sango ran her fingers along Miroku's spine, sending chills throughout his entire body. She had learned on their wedding night that he loved that feeling.

Miroku moved his kisses down her neck and onto her shoulder. His hands moved to untie the kimono she was wearing and pulled it away. He had seen Sango completely naked many times since they had been married, but he never failed to be engulfed by her beauty.

Sango reached up and ran her fingers through his hair, pulling him down, closer to her.

****

Inuyasha paced the room impatiently rocking Ginsenshi in his arms, despite the fact that child had long since fallen asleep. "Why isn't Kagome back yet?" he asked out loud.

"Inuyasha?"

He stopped walking and looked down at Shippo. "Did I wake you up runt?"

Shippo shook his head, even though it was a lie. "When's she getting back?"

Inuyasha tried not to growl at the kit from his frustration. "I don't -" he suddenly cut himself off. One of his ears twitched when he heard Sango's voice _You have cold hands_'. He made a little face, "Come on Shippo." He started to walk out of the room.

"Where are we going?" Shippo jumped up and followed him.

"Might as well look for Kagome." he mumbled _And give those two some privacy_ he thought.

It was pretty warm that night, so neither Shippo or Inuyasha needed any extra clothing. Not that cold weather bothered demons very much. The two of them walked down random paths through the town sniffing for Kagome. Inuyasha tried not to show it, but he was getting really worried.

"Did Mom say she was going somewhere?" Shippo asked after a long silence.

"Mom? Why is it you call her mom, but you don't call me dad?"

A faint pink appeared on Shippo's cheeks, which Inuyasha noticed, even though it was nighttime. "Did she say anything too you?"

Inuyasha sighed. "No. The last time I talked to her, she was going to the bathroom." He thought back, trying to remember her words. _P-Promise you won't follow me.'_ All of a sudden he stopped walking. "Damn it!"

"What's wrong?" Shippo asked.

"She practically told me!" Inuyasha scolded himself. He wanted to punch something, but he was still holding Ginsenshi, so he settled for kicking the dirt. "And I even promised!"

****

Kagome stirred the soup as she and Kohaku waited for it to finish cooking. "It's should be ready in a few minutes." She said placing the lid on top of it.

Kohaku smiled and leaned back on his heels. He had learned to enjoy Kagome's cooking since they started off. Of course that was most likely because it was the only food available to him. When Kagome handed him a bowl he greedily ate all of it within minutes and politely asked for seconds.

Kagome reached out to fill his bowl again, but both their heads turned when they heard the snapping of a twig near the camp. "What do you think that was?" she whispered.

"I'll check." Kohaku stood up. He viewed this as a chance to be useful and protect her. He walked closer to the area that the sound came from keeping a tight hand on his sickle. "W-Who's there?" he called out, hopping his voice didn't sound as shaky as he felt.

He managed to stand his ground when a demon jumped down a few feet away from him. "You're the worst protector Kagome has ever had. At least mutt face doesn't show that he was nervous."

"Kouga?" Kagome called from the campsite.

"Yeah." He patted Kohaku on the shoulder once before joining Kagome.

"What are you doing here Kouga."

Kohaku was able to pick up on the slight annoyance in her voice and sat down next to her, just in case something happened.

"I've been following you for a while." Kouga mumbled.

Kagome frowned. "Why?"

"I saw you traveling around with, " he glanced at Kohaku then back to Kagome, "practically no protection. So I've been following you."

"Kouga " Kagome sighed.

"So I figured I should stay with you guys. Offer better protection and get a little food."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "You know that I'm Inuyasha's mate right?"

"Yeah."

"And you know we had a child, right?"

Kouga let out a sigh but nodded just the same.

Kagome smiled and handed him a bowl of soup. "Then you can stay."

****

::sigh:: I want eight reviews. Until next time love, peace, and rock.

Lots of love DayDreamer62386


	46. Sango's Pup

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

****

Notes to my reviewers:

Captured Moon: Before you read this chapter, you have to do a favor for me (please). Tell Mr. Pizza that I love him and give his lots of hugs and kisses for me. Thanks. Enjoy the chapter.

WolfsSora: love, peace, and rock' because I had nothing better to write in that space.

Andi: I had to bring Kouga back – I didn't want to – but I had too.

Inufreak831: Oh crap. Now you have expectations. Expectations that I have to try and live up too. Damn.

Mione Zoe Ravenclaw: Hmmm you gave me an idea for my story.

****

Chapter Forty Six: Sango's Pup

Kagome let out a soft sigh when the morning sun woke her up. Tonight was Ginsenshi's first birthday, and she was going to miss it. _I'm a horrible mother_ she thought to herself. "Kohaku, Kouga, wake up." She said, getting out of her sleeping bag. She wanted to get to Kikyo's castle as soon as possible.

Kohaku sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Morning Kagome." he mumbled. "W-Where's Kouga?" he asked, looking around. Kagome looked around too. She hadn't noticed it early. The pile of moss and leave that Kouga had used as a bed was empty.

"I don't know." She mumbled. "Just pack your things. He'll be able to find us if we leave before he gets back."

"That's not very nice." Kouga said, stepping out from behind some trees. "After I caught breakfast for you, you were just gonna leave me."

Kagome frowned. She was not in a good mood today. "We already had food. You didn't need to leave."

Kouga shrugged. "Nothing beats fresh meat."

Kagome looked down at his hand and gasped. He was holding three bunnies that he had killed. Whenever they needed fresh meat in the past, Inuyasha would always hunt for them, but he was polite enough to skin the animal and cut it up before he brought it to Kagome. Now all she could imagine was the bunnies hopping around with their families.

"K-Kagome." Kouga moved the bunnies behind his back so she wouldn't have to look at them. He didn't know she would have that kind of a reaction.

"I'm fine." She mumbled, wiping a few tears away from her eyes. "You guys should cook those, before we leave."

Kagome spent the rest of the morning getting ready to travel again while Kouga and Kohaku worked on the rabbits. It didn't take long to cook them and they smelled wonderful, but Kagome's stomach turned every time she glanced at the cooked meat. With a sigh, she skipped breakfast and waited for the men to finish.

"How long do you think it will take us to get there?" Kohaku asked. None of them had spoken since they started that day.

Kagome bit her bottom lip as she thought about it. "We should get there by – nightfall."

"That soon." Kouga grabbed Kagome's arm "We should think of a plan."

"I already have one."

"What is it?"

Kagome stopped walking. "I was gonna sneak in and steal the jewel." Now that she had said the plan out loud, Kagome could easily spot all the flaws. She could be found. She could get lost. A million and one things could happen.

"J-Just like that. You're gonna take the jewel."

"I don't know what else to do." She mumbled, jerking her arm out of his grasp.

"What are we going to do?" Kohaku asked.

" Wait outside." Kagome responded after a hesitation.

Kouga stopped walking and turned to Kagome. "Listen. I've got a better plan."

"What?"

"Kohaku and I will take you into her bedroom, where she keeps the jewel, then we will stand watch or create a diversion. Whichever is needed."

Kagome smiled. "I guess that will work. How do you know all this?"

"I've been there, remember."

****

"Inuyasha." Sango knocked as softly as she could on the door. Knowing that his demon ears would pick it up. And sure enough less then a minute later, he opened the door. Sango blushed and turned her head when she realized that he hadn't bothered to put a shirt on.

"D-Do you need something?" he said with a yawn.

"You slept in. Breakfast has come and gone."

Inuyasha shrugged. "I wasn't hungry anyway."

"Well, I just - "

Inuyasha smirked at her embarrassment and walked back into the room to put on a shirt. When he was fully dressed he walked back to the door. "I finished the house. If you want, you can come help Ginsenshi and I move in. Not that we have a lot of stuff."

Sango smiled. He was in a better mood considering Kagome's not-so-mysterious disappearance. "I have a present for Ginsenshi."

Almost on cue, the little infant crawled over to where his father was standing. Inuyasha instinctively picked his up. "Happy Birthday little guy." He said proudly.

"Happy Birthday GinGin."

"GinGin?"

Sango nodded. "Ginsenshi is such a long name."

Inuyasha made a little face. He didn't know if he liked Sango's abbreviation. "Feh. What did you get him?"

Sango moved her hand from behind her back. It wasn't much, a simple wooden sword that she had carved. Inuyasha set Ginsenshi on the floor and gave him the toy. Ginsenshi happily swung it around till he hit Inuyasha in the leg. Sango gasped, but Inuyasha just smiled. It didn't seem to hurt him at all.

Sango smiled at the two and grabbed Inuyasha's hand. "Come on. I've got something I need to tell you."

She pulled him into the room she and Miroku used. Inuyasha looked around, "Where's Miroku."

"He went off to help some family with something." Sango said, pushing around some stuff. She seemed to be looking for something.

"Sango?" He looked at her curiously. "Do you need any help?"

"No. I found it." she brushed herself off and walked back to Inuyasha, placing something in his hand. "Kagome gave it to me a little while ago."

Inuyasha looked at what she handed him. "A pregnancy test?"

"Open it."

Inuyasha opened it and took out the little strip of paper inside.

"You see that." Sango said, pointing to a little mark at the end. "The box said that this symbol means I'm gonna have a baby."

"Really." Inuyasha smiled.

"Yeah."

He brought Sango into a hug. "Congratulations." He said. "Have you told Miroku yet."

When they parted Sango shook her head. "I'm gonna surprise him. Do you think he'll be happy."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "I hate to state the obvious, but yeah. I was wondering when you two would have a pup of your own."

Sango laughed at the word pup'. "I can't wait to tell Kagome."

Inuyasha's smiled dimmed a little, but still stayed on. "I'm gonna start moving our stuff." He said quickly before walking out of the room. Sango felt a pang of guilt for bringing up Kagome as she watched him walk down the hall.

****

Kagome sat down on the grass to rest for a few moments. They had kept a quick pace all day so they could get to Kikyo's castle before it got to dark. Now they were in the field not very far from it.

"Do you want some water?" Kohaku asked.

She shook her head. "I just need a break."

"You sure. You look a little under the weather."

Kagome laughed a little. "I'm fine." She pushed herself off the ground and started walking towards the castle. "Come on. We shouldn't waist time."

Kouga glanced at Kohaku before running to catch up with her. "Kagome. Is it just me or has your scent changed a little."

"I wouldn't know. I can't smell myself."

"Can't you think of any reason that your scent would change?"

"One."

"What?"

"None of your business Kouga." Kagome said before quickening her pace.

"Don't let her bug you." Kohaku said, a few steps behind Kouga, "She's just in a grumpy mood today."

With Kagome's fast pace, it didn't take them much longer to reach Kikyo's castle. They were there in nearly half the time they originally thought it would take. Kagome, Kohaku, and Kouga stood in front of the large front doors, waiting for someone to take the first step.

Kagome took a deep breath and pushed one door open. She opened it up just enough to stick her head in; making sure nobody was in the front room. When she was sure that everything was safe, she set her backpack on the ground and stepped inside (Keeping her bow and arrow with her).

It seemed like she stepped right into winter as she walked into the room. "If I didn't know better " she said to herself " I'd say she had the air-conditioning way to high."

"What's an air-conditioning?"

"Air-conditioner." Kagome corrected, but didn't bother explaining what it was. She started walking down one of halls, keeping her eyes closed so she could better sense the jewel. Kouga and Kohaku stayed behind her, but they kept their attention to the things around them. Both ready to attack if necessary.

"You two wait here." Kagome whispered when she reached a door. She could sense the jewel on the other side. They nodded and watched her walk in.

The two of them stood out there for a while. Keeping sharp ears and eyes. The only thing that grabbed their attention was a loud thump at one end of the hall; the ground practically shook when it happened.

"What the hell was that?" Kouga exclaimed.

"I don't know. Let's find out." Kohaku said, running in the direction the sound came from. Kouga glanced at the closed door of the room Kagome had walked into before running after Kohaku.

The two reached the end of the long hallway and turned the coiner to find nothing. "What the hell!" Kouga practically yelled.

Kohaku didn't know what to say. What could have made that loud noise. "Maybe it was a distraction." He said slowly. As soon as the words left his mouth they heard the door down the long hallway slam.

"Kagome!" they yelled out running back to it.

****

Kagome shut the door behind her quietly and let out a breath. This whole thing was murder on her nerves, she almost felt sick to her stomach. She took a look around the room. It didn't look like Kikyo spent any time in here at all. Nothing looked out of place. There was even a thin layer of dust over everything.

She could sense the jewel, but couldn't tell it's exact location. _Might as well start looking_ she thought to herself.

She moved over to a desk by the window and opened the drawers one by one searching through them carefully, making sure that she put everything back in place. Giving up on the desk, she moved across the room to look under the bed. She was disappointed to see that there wasn't a single thing under it.

When the door slammed she shot up off the ground and looked towards the front of the room. Kikyo stood next to the door. "Surprised to see me." She spoke in a very calm voice, as if she was speaking to an old friend.

"You knew I was coming, didn't you?" Kagome asked. She was surprised to hear that her voice didn't sound as scared as she really was.

"Yes I knew." Kikyo continued, she moved across the room to a shelf. Kagome watched her as she reached for a small wooden box that hadn't been noticed before. "I knew that you would come looking for this." She reached inside the box and took out the jewel.

Kagome gasped when she saw it and almost reached for it, but stopped herself. "I just want the jewel. I don't want to hurt you."

Kikyo made a face that seemed like disbelief. "You. You wouldn't be able to hurt me, even if you tried. But if you want it," she held out her hand, "then take it."

Kagome hesitated for a few seconds.

"Just take it." Kikyo said again.

Something in Kikyo's eyes worried Kagome. She didn't trust her. She didn't trust being handed the jewel on a silver platter. Biting her bottom lip, Kagome started walking towards her.

****

I'm in a good mood today. I think it's because the tv aired my second favorite episode of Inuyasha. ::sigh:: Thanks for reading my story (I owe you guys one). Until my next chapter, I want 6 reviews.

Lots of love DD62386

Someone sent me this review:

__

yay! once again another great chappy! but im still scared as to what will happen! plz hurry with the next one, im pratically tearing my computer apart cause its taking so long!

i need a favor by the way: iv got 5 chappys in my story but only one has reviewed for the lat one. plz o plz o plz review for me! i won't write another one cause im in depression mode. it would be really nice if u do.UU, sniff

I would love to read the story, but the reviewer didn't leave a name or anything. If the person who sent it could send me a name to go with it, that'd be great. J J


	47. Letting Her Live

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha

****

Notes to my reviewers: The first story I ever wrote was in first grade about a giraffe wanting to buy a necklace, but not finding one big enough. My teacher read it over my shoulder, said it was stupid, and threw it away and told me to write a better one.

The-Deaths: Oooo ::raises hand:: me me me.

WolfsSora: I guess when I'm in a good mood I'm more likely to leave cliff hangers. I can't help it. I love doing it way to much.

JosieBelle: Yeah she's pregnant. Damn you Kagome! Must you steal Sango's moment!

Jinenji: Wow, if I had been in your position I wouldn't have even bothered reviewing my story. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

InuKagFan: Holy cow! I feel really bad for your computer.

****

Chapter Forty Seven: Letting Her Live

Kagome bit her lower lip and walked slowly towards Kikyo, she knew that this was a bad idea. She didn't trust Kikyo handing her the jewel on a silver platter. Her fingers touched the jewel's smooth surface. She was about to pick it up when Kikyo's other hand grasped Kagome's wrist.

Kagome's eyes widened when she looked up at Kikyo. "The jewel belongs to me." She tried to break Kikyo's strong hold on her. "I'm taking it."

"You?" Kikyo smiled. "I was the one entrusted with the jewel."

"But you died."

Kikyo frowned and turned Kagome around, pulling on her arms behind her back so that she was pinned against Kikyo's chest. "That wasn't my fault." She whispered in her ear.

"I know." Kagome spoke through clenched teeth. Her arms were in a lot of pain. "But when you died, you had the jewel burned along with your body. So I would be born with it."

Kikyo pushed Kagome to the ground. "But I'm alive now. It's rightfully mine."

Kagome looked up at her and saw the jewel was still in her hand. She didn't know what it was, but something snapped inside her. Seeing Kikyo standing above her with the jewel made her really angry. She reached out her hand, grabbed one of Kikyo's ankles, and pulled as hard as she could. Causing her to go crashing to the ground.

The jewel flew out of Kikyo's hand, but Kagome didn't care. Before Kikyo had time to react she jumped on top of her and punched her jaw as hard as she could. Kikyo looked up at Kagome once before she pushed her off.

Kagome got to her feet quickly, but not fast enough compared to Kikyo. As soon as she stood up, Kikyo grabbed her by the hair and yanked as hard as she could. Kagome almost lost her balance, but didn't. Her head started to pound from the pain to her scalp.

Kouga and Kohaku kicked open the door and ran in, but froze in place. They didn't know how to help her. If they just ran and attacked Kikyo, they risked hurting Kagome.

"You shouldn't start fights Kagome. Not when there's so much to lose." Kikyo whispered loud enough for the others to hear.

Kagome closed her eyes. She knew exactly what Kikyo was talking about. _How is she able to tell these things_ she asked herself. She took in a deep breath and straightened herself quickly so her head smashed into Kikyo's face. Kikyo stumbled back a few feet.

Kouga and Kohaku saw their window of opportunity and rushed over to her, grabbing Kikyo's arms and legs, pinning her to the wall. "Kagome. What should we do?" Kohaku asked. He would have been more then happy to snap Kikyo's neck, after all she hurt Kagome. But he wouldn't do it without Kagome's permission.

Kagome didn't answer at first. She crawled along the floor to the unused bed. The jewel had rolled under it. Once she had is safely tucked in her sock she stood up and drew her bow and arrow. "Hold her still."

She aimed the arrow right at Kikyo's heart. She drew the arrow back, ready to let go, but she made a mistake. Kagome looked Kikyo straight in the eyes and hesitated.

"Kagome!" Kouga yelled. Kikyo didn't look like it, but she was strong, and she was putting up one hell of a fight.

"I-I can't."

Kikyo stopped struggling and smiled. "Really Kagome. Why not?"

Kagome frowned, she knew that Kikyo was just mocking her. She lowered her bow and started to walk out the door. "Come on guys," she called over her shoulder. "we have the jewel."

Kohaku and Kouga both followed Kagome out of the castle and back along the path they had been traveling before without talking. It wasn't till Kohaku's stomach growled loudly when she stopped and turned. "We skipped lunch didn't we." Kagome sighed. The others nodded. She had been so wrapped up in her own thinking that she forgot all about lunch, now it was almost nighttime.

"We should set up camp, Kagome." Kouga said. She nodded and started to unpack some things. "I'll cook – um - "

Kohaku could tell that something was still bothering her. "Why don't you go wash up at the river we past."

"We went past a river?" Kagome was stunned; she really had zoned out.

"Come on." Kouga grabbed her arm. "I'll take you."

"I'll be fine." Kagome said, trying to pull away from him.

"No. You and I need to talk."

Kagome sighed and let him lead her to the river. When they were there she took off her shoes and sock, holding the jewel in her hand, and dipped her feet in the icy cold water. It felt so good to Kagome, but she grew nervous when she saw Kouga staring down at her.

"W-What did you want to talk about?"

He sat down next to Kagome and stared directly into her eyes. "Why didn't you kill Kikyo?"

"You talk like it's so easy to kill someone."

"Kagome!"

"I couldn't!"

"Why not."

Kagome shook her head. "Kouga. She looks just like me. I couldn't kill someone who looks just like me."

Kouga frowned. "Don't lie Kagome."

Kagome closed her eyes. "I'm not."

"Kagome!"

"I I didn't want to hurt someone that Inuyasha once loved even if it was a long time ago."

Kouga sighed. "Fine. I can understand that."

Kagome pulled her feet out of the water and stared to put her socks on. "Is that all?"

"Ye – No! Why do you smell different?"

Kagome put her shoes on and started to walk away. "It's none of your business."

Kouga quickly jumped in front of her. "Tell me."

Kagome sighed and looked towards the camp Kohaku had set up. "I'm pregnant. Two months."

"WHAT! Again!"

Kagome covered Kouga's mouth. "Not so loud. I wanted Inuyasha to be the first to know."

"It's a crime to nature that mutt boy is able to reproduce." He mumbled once Kagome pulled her hands away.

"Kouga!"

Kouga rolled his eyes and started walking towards the camp, until something triggered in his mind. "Wait, you traveled around and started a fight with Kikyo while pregnant."

"I just realized it a few days ago." Kagome sighed.

Kouga grabbed Kagome and pulled her closer to him, taking in a big sniff. Kagome blushed and tried to push him away until he whispered in his ear. "It's going to be a girl."

"Really?"

"Yeah." He let go of her and walked to the camp.

Kohaku smiled as they approached him. "I'm almost done with the soup." He said.

"Thanks Kohaku." Kagome sat down next to him.

"How long do you think it will take us to get back?" he asked as Kagome filled up three bowls.

"Mmm – If we hurry. A few days."

****

Ginsenshi wobbled around the room chasing after Shippo, who playfully stayed out of the child's reach. Inuyasha was sitting in his spot by the door. He stayed there almost all day, every day, waiting for Kagome to get back. Sango had promised to tell Kagome that Inuyasha had finished the house if she ever showed up.

"Inuyasha. Could you cook that stew for dinner." Shippo asked after letting his little brother catch him.

"Again?" he asked in a rough voice. He didn't talk much the last few days. "I thought you didn't like that stuff."

Shippo kicked the ground with his foot nervously. "I know."

"Then why do you keep asking for it?"

Shippo blushed a little. "I don't want to say."

Inuyasha folded his arms. "Then I'm not making it."

Shippo gasped and ran to Inuyasha's side, Ginsenshi handing onto his tail, "You have to make it."

"Why?"

"B-Because. It's mom's favorite food. Maybe she'll come back if we cook it."

Inuyasha looked curiously down at the kit. "That's why you keep asking me to cook it."

Shippo nodded.

"All right runt."

****

Kouga was running and jumping from tree to tree with Kohaku and Kagome on his back. He had been traveling faster then he ever had before without the help of the jewel shards. Once they were outside of Kaede's village he set the two of them on the ground. "See," he turned to Kagome. "I told you I could get you here in a day."

Kagome's arms were numb from holding Kouga so tightly, "I didn't say you couldn't, I said you _shouldn't_!" she yelled. She didn't trust Kouga the way she trusted Inuyasha, so the fast speed had scared her.

"Whatever. I should leave you here. Wouldn't want your _mate_ to see me or anything."

Kagome took a deep breath to settle her nerves and hugged Kouga quickly. "Thanks for everything." She smiled before grabbing Kohaku's hand and running towards the village.

Kouga stood there for a little while, kicking a few pebbles. "Bye Kagome." he said quietly before jumping off.

Kohaku and Kagome both ran as fast as they could go. Their first stop was at Kaede's house. She was so happy to see the two back and well, but practically pushed them out the door. "Ye need to go to your families." She said.

Sango's house was the one they automatically went to. They didn't know Inuyasha had finished the house yet. Kohaku stuck his head in the door first. Sango was sitting with her back to the door, sowing together a few holes in an old blanket. He winked at Kagome once before walking quietly into the room. Miroku wasn't around so he moved behind his older sister, ready to scare the day out of her.

Kagome bit her lip to hold in her laughter as Kohaku grabbed Sango around the waist and yelled boo'. Sango toss the blanket and screamed. Miroku ran into the room, looked at Kagome and Kohaku, and gasped out "You're back."

Sango screamed again, but this time it was out of joy. She wrapped her arms around her little brother and squeezed the life out of him. "I missed you so much. I was so worried." She kept rambling on and on.

"S-Sango need air"

"Oh, sorry." Sango let go of him and rushed over to Kagome and wrapped her arms around her too. "I'm so glad your safe."

"Thanks. Is Inuyasha here?"

"No he's – Oh! The house! He finished it!" Sango said excitedly. "You're going to love it."

"Okay. I'll go." She shot a glance towards Kohaku. "Thanks for your help."

"Anytime." He gave a small wave as she walked out the door.

Miroku patted Kohaku on the shoulder. "It's nice to have you back. Did anything dangerous happen on your trip?"

Kohaku shook his head. "No. Not really. Kagome got into a fight with Kikyo, but Kouga and I were able to -"

"Kouga!" Sango and Miroku both said at the same time.

"Umm – yeah." Kohaku didn't know if he had said something Kagome didn't want him to or not.

"He went with you?" Sango said, still a little stunned. "Why?"

"He wanted to protect Kagome."

Kagome shook her head as she walked away from the house, half listening to the voices until they were no more then muffled sounds. She remembered how to get to the house Inuyasha had built for her and grew more and more excited with every step she took. She wished she had been here the day it was finished. She had missed out on a lot of important stuff.

When she came up to the house, she saw that the bamboo door was pulled to the side. It didn't surprise her. It was a warm night. _It's a shame air-conditioning hasn't been invented yet_ she thought to herself as she stood in the doorway.

Inuyasha and Shippo were looking down into the pot of food they were cooking. Her nose told her that it was her favorite kind of stew and she smiled. Ginsenshi was digging into one of the floorboards with one of his claws when he looked up and saw her. He smiled and stood up. "Mama." He said, waddling over to her.

Shippo and Inuyasha both looked at him. "Did you just talk?" Inuyasha asked.

"Mama!" he said again.

This time Inuyasha looked in the direction Ginsenshi was walking. His eyes grew wide "Kagome!" He moved in the blink of an eye, taking Kagome in his arms. "You're back."

"Really?" she laughed.

Ginsenshi, who had still been waddling towards his mother, grabbed onto her ankle and hugged it.

"The stew worked." Shippo said proudly.

"Would you like to join in this hug?" Kagome asked.

Shippo didn't need to be asked twice. He jumped onto Kagome's shoulder and threw his arms around her neck. "I missed you."

"I missed you too."

****

I would have had this chapter up soon, but I've felt so sick lately. The kind of sick where you can't even get out of bed with out bed without feeling like your gonna throw up. I mainly slept, but while I slept I thought of great ways to end this story.

****

Final thought from Kouga

__

Can't mutt boy stay off Kagome for five minutes !!!

Lots and Lots and _Lots_ of love DD62386


	48. Raised Voices

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha

****

Notes to my reviewers:

Kyosama: I'm still feeling a little under the weather, so I wasn't planning on answering that many reviews, but yours practically demanded it (in a good way). Inuyasha didn't know his mate was with child' (I love how you wrote that) at the time. Sad but true, this story is coming to an end. I'm gonna end it at chapter fifty. A nice round number. I do plan to write more. I've already started working on my next fanfic. Thanks for the complements. Enjoy this chapter.

Jinenji: I've only gotten food poisoning two times in my life. The most recent was last Christmas. I was halfway finished with my meal at the restaurant when I found a fingernail in it. Gross. I was sick all through Christmas Eve, Christmas morning, and the day after when the rest of my family went to Disneyland. I'm glad you took the time to review. Happy Chrismahanukwanzaka!

****

Chapter Forty Eight: Raised Voices

Kagome woke up early but couldn't decide if she wanted to get up or not. It seemed like forever since she was able to feel Inuyasha's arms around her, and she didn't want to ruin that now. When she looked up at his she was surprised to see that he was already awake. "How long have you been up?"

"Not long." He lied. In truth he hadn't even gone to sleep that night. He had been afraid that if he closed his eyes, his Kagome would go away again. "Why did you go?"

"What?"

"D-Did I make you mad or something?"

Kagome felt a string of guilt when he said that. "No. You didn't do anything." She reached up and rubbed his ears. "I needed to take care of something."

"What did you need to take care of?"

Kagome hesitated for a while, trying to decide how much she should tell Inuyasha. "The Shikon no Tama. I needed to get the rest of it."

Inuyasha sat up quickly. "What!"

"The rest of it." Kagome repeated it, trying to sound as if it was no big deal. She reached over and pulled the jewel out of its hiding place deep in her pillow. "Here." She handed it to Inuyasha.

"What are you giving it to me for?"

Kagome pulled on some jeans and a tank top. "You're wish. Remember."

"My wish?"

Kagome let out a fake laugh as she started to walk to the door. "You wanted to become full demon."

Inuyasha stared at the jewel in his hand and glanced up towards Kagome, "B-But I thought -" he was surprised to see that she had already gone.

Kagome sighed as she walked down the hallway wishing she hadn't done what she just did. Deep down she hoped Inuyasha wouldn't change a thing about himself, whether it is demon or human. But he had been so dedicated to becoming full demon, she had to give him the jewel.

She poked her head in Ginsenshi's room to see that the child was already awake playing with a wooden sword. "Morning hun." She said quietly.

Ginsenshi turned around quickly, dropped the sword, and ran to his mother. "Mama!" He said clinging to her leg.

"Do you want to see Grandma?"

"Mama."

"I'll take that as a yes. Go get your sword."

Ginsenshi ran over to his sword then back to his mother's arms. Kagome lifted him off the ground and walked into the main room of the house. Shippo was sitting there chewing on some chocolate Kagome had gotten for him a while ago.

"What are you doing up this early?"

He shrugged. "Where are you going?"

"I'm taking Ginsenshi to see grandma."

Shippo jumped to his feet. "Can I come with you?"

Kagome smiled, but shook her head. "Not this time. But don't worry, I'll be back by sundown, okay."

Shippo nodded and sat back down on the floor to finish his chocolate. He watched Kagome walk out of the house and couldn't help but think she looked a little sad. He tossed his chocolate aside, no longer wanting it, and headed off for Inuyasha's room.

The kit bound in, not bothering with any warning. Inuyasha was a little surprised but just ignored him. "Inuyasha"

"Go away." Inuyasha rolled over so that his back was facing Shippo. "I'm not in the mood to deal with you runt."

"Did you and mom fight?"

"No."

"Then why was she so sad?"

Inuyasha sat up and faced the kit. "She wasn't sad."

"She seemed sad."

Inuyasha sighed and looked at the jewel in his hand. "She probably thinks I'm gonna use this to change into a full demon."

Shippo gasped when he saw the jewel. "It's complete!"

"I know. She said I could make my wish upon it now."

"So. Aren't you going too."

Inuyasha set it down on the floor. "No."

"I thought you wanted to be full demon."

"I did, a while ago."

The two sat in silence for a little while before Shippo grabbed it. "If your not gonna make a wish, could I?"

"Whatever." Inuyasha shrugged and pulled his shirt over his head.

Shippo balled up his fist and closed his eyes. Inuyasha sighed and walked out of the room. He stuck his head in Ginsenshi's room and noticed that he was gone. He frowned a little and walked into the main room thinking Kagome took him to get breakfast. When he found that room empty too, he looked outside. Finally he gave up and walked back into his room where Shippo was.

"Where's Kagome and Ginsenshi?"

"They went to Grandma's for the day." Shippo said, staring down at the jewel.

"What!" Inuyasha snatched the jewel out of his hand. "If you made a wish, the well would have sealed up! We wouldn't have been able to see Kagome or Ginsenshi ever again!"

Shippo shook his head. "But I did make a wish. I made a wish and nothing happened."

Inuyasha looked at the jewel in his hand. "Maybe it was something that's already happened."

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe, if you wished for something that's already true, then it doesn't work." Inuyasha said. It was the only explanation he could come up with. "W-What did you wish for?"

Shippo handed the jewel back to Inuyasha. "Since I have a baby brother, I wished for a baby sister." Suddenly his eyes opened wide. "Do you think mom is gonna have another baby?"

****

Sango walked out of her house carrying two empty buckets, to gather some water for breakfast. She was about to go over to Kagome and Inuyasha's house to see if they needed anything, but she saw Kagome already walking down the path. "Kagome!" Sango called out.

Kagome looked away from Ginsenshi and smiled at Sango. "Good morning. How's Kohaku."

"Still sleeping." She said when Kagome met up with her. "He and Miroku were out late last night, so they are both tired."

"Out late? Doing what?"

"Working. Miroku got worried about how much money we have for the future, so he worked with a family in their field for the longest time last night. Where are you headed?"

"I'm taking Ginsenshi to see his grandma."

Sango smiled at Ginsenshi. "I'll walk you."

The two girls walked, still talking. In an attempt to learn what happened while Kagome was away. "So." She asked. "Why is Miroku all of a sudden worried about money for the future? He never was before."

"I wasn't pregnant before." Sango said casually.

Kagome stopped walking and faced Sango. "You're pregnant! That's wonderful!" She hugged Sango tightly with her free arm, squeezing Ginsenshi in between the two bodies. The small child gave out a small cry until the two women stopped compressing him.

"Can I hold him?" Sango asked. "I should practice."

Kagome smiled and handed Ginsenshi over to her. The child frowned at first, saying Mama' in a very grumpy way, but didn't cry or try to wiggle out of Sango's arms. While Sango chatted about not being able to wait until she was a mother and how there were times when she had been secretly jealous of her, Kagome thought about her own baby. She didn't want to steal the attention away from Sango again. First she did it on her wedding day and now she was going to do it during her first pregnancy.

Before she knew it, Sango was handing Ginsenshi back to her. "So when will you be back."

Kagome shook her head out of her thoughts and realized that they were right next to the well. "Oh — um — I'll be back by sundown."

"Okay."

Kagome sat on the edge of the well and held Ginsenshi tightly in her arms. She took in a breath and jumped down. Sango walked to the edge of the well and leaned over to watch her friend disappear. But she was surprised to see that Kagome was standing at the bottom looking around.

"Is something wrong?" Sango called down.

"I don't know. The well didn't work." She looked up at Sango. "You don't think that - " but she stopped when she realized what was wrong. "Damn it." she mumbled and started climbing up the latter Inuyasha had built for her.

"Why couldn't you go through?" she asked as soon as Kagome was out again.

"I gave the jewel to Inuyasha. So he could turn into a full demon."

"You're gonna let him."

Kagome sighed and shifted Ginsenshi. "I don't want him to, but it's his decision not mine."

Sango shrugged. "Do you want to go to the stream with me?"

"Sure. This little man needs a bath."

The two of them walked down to the stream. Sango filled up her buckets of water and sat down in the grass as Kagome bathed Ginsenshi. The small child splashed water around and laughed. "Mama." He said over and over again as she played with him.

"When do you think he'll learn more words?"

Kagome shrugged. "I'm happy with mama. It's nice to know that I was his first word."

Sango laughed.

****

Inuyasha and Shippo walked to the well. Shippo was sitting on Inuyasha's shoulder, happy that he wasn't to big for that. "I think Kagome will be happy to know that you're not going to be a full demon." Shippo mumbled.

Inuyasha just grunted his response. When they reached the well, the first thing he noticed was that Kagome's scent didn't disappear like it normally did when she went down the well.

"I thought you said she was going to her mom's house."

"That's what she told me." Shippo shrugged.

"Well she didn't." Inuyasha started following Kagome's scent.

"Do you think she changed her mind?"

"No. She probably couldn't without the jewel."

Shippo jumped off and walked next to Inuyasha instead of riding on his shoulder. "Were are we going?"

"You have a nose, smell for yourself." Inuyasha said. He was getting a little grumpy. He kept thinking about how Kagome once again tried to go off without telling him where she was going. This time with Ginsenshi none the less.

Shippo lifted his chin and sniffed. "The river?"

"Yup."

Inuyasha sped up his pace when he heard Ginsenshi repeatedly saying Mama.' _He should be learning Dad' any time now_ he thought to himself. He walked into a clearing and saw Sango sitting next to two buckets and Kagome dressing Ginsenshi. "Kagome." he said walking up to her.

Kagome stood up and brushed some dirt off her pants as Ginsenshi crawled on the ground towards his father. "Inuyasha. What are you doing here?"

"I came looking for you. Why didn't you tell me you're pregnant." He blurted out.

"How did you know?"

"You are!" Sango and Shippo both exclaimed. Ginsenshi stopped crawling when he heard the raised voices and sat in between his mom and dad.

"You could have told me."

"I was waiting for the right moment."

Sango walked over to Shippo. She could tell by the tone in Inuyasha's voice that a fight was about to start. "Come on." She whispered. Shippo nodded and followed her away from the stream.

"Kagome." Inuyasha ran his hand through his hair. "When did you find out."

Kagome looked down at her feet. "Not that long ago."

"What! You knew you were pregnant and you still ran off with Kohaku on some stupid adventure!"

"It wasn't stupid!" she yelled. "I had to get the jewel!"

"And you couldn't have done it without me!"

"No!"

"Why!"

Kagome turned her back to Inuyasha. "Because."

"Stop acting like a child." Inuyasha said.

"I'm not."

"Why did you find it impossible to take me with you? Did you think I wouldn't protect you! You're my life Kagome! I wouldn't let something happen to you!" his voice was getting louder and louder the more he spoke.

"I know Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled, turning to face him. "That was the problem. I didn't want you to have to fight -" she stopped herself.

Inuyasha walked towards her. "Who?"

Kagome shifted for one foot to the other. "That's not important."

"Kagome! Don't you trust me!"

"I - "

"You know Kagome. You completely had me fooled. I thought you trusted me. I thought you liked my ears, my eyes, my hair all that stuff. But then you hand me this," he held out the jewel "and tell me to change. What the hell is wrong with you! Do you not like being with a half breed!"

Kagome's eyes flared. "How could you even think that!" She yelled as loud as she could. "You're the one who's been talking about being a full demon from the day we met! I didn't want you to change!"

"Neither do I! I practically spelled it out for you long ago!"

"I can't read minds Inuyasha! For once in your life just _tell_ me what you want!" She snatched the jewel out of his hand, picked up Ginsenshi and stormed off.

The child sat in his mother's arms looking up at her with wide eyes. Kagome couldn't remember the last time she fought that badly with Inuyasha. A few tears escaped her eyes as she made her way to the well.

"Mama?" Ginsenshi cooed softly, reaching up for her.

"I'm alright hun. I just — need _my_ mama."

****

Kikyo paced the rooms of her castle rubbing her jaw. It didn't hurt anymore, but she could still remember the force of Kagome's punch. "She took it." she mumbled to herself. Trying to decide what she should do.

She knew that she had to get the jewel back. _It is rightfully mine_ she thought to herself _I have to get it._

She finally stopped pacing and looked out the window. "Fine. I'll get it back." She decided. "I'll get the jewel back and the rest of my soul."

One of the servants knocked timidly on the door. "Lady Kikyo. Would you like a meal prepared for you."

"No. I'll be leaving soon."

"Where?"

"A small village not that far from here. Maybe a week's walk."

The servant looked down at her feet. "Are you going to want anyone to escort you."

"No. I'll go alone."

"Alright miss." She titled her head to the side "I wish you a safe trip." She mumbled before walking out of the room.

Kikyo walked to her unused bedroom and grabbed her arrows, but changed her mind and traded those for her special made poison arrows. She only had a few more, but she knew they would do.

****

Inuyasha sat in a tree near the well waiting for Kagome to get back. The sun had already gone down and night was starting to take over everything. "Damn her. She promised she'd be back by sundown." He mumbled to himself.

__

That was before you yelled at her baka. He thought. After Kagome ran off, Inuyasha was able to cool off and realize that he did overreact. He felt bad about yelling at her and promised himself he would say sorry as soon as she got back. But she didn't come back.

Giving one last sigh, he jumped out of the tree and walked over to the well. "Thank god I don't need a jewel to travel through it." he mumbled before leaping in.

When he was on the other side he debated walking through the house. He didn't want Kagome's family to yell at him the second he stepped in the door. So he chose to jump up to her window like he used to.

As soon as he opened it, he was over come with the scent of Kagome's salty tears. "Kagome." he whispered as he moved inside.

He could see her under her blanket, but the way her body stiffened when he whispered her name told him that she was still awake. He looked over to the crib and saw that Ginsenshi was sleeping soundly, sucking on his thumb.

"Kagome." he whispered again. This time she turned and looked up at him, but didn't say anything.

Inuyasha lay down next to her and brushed some hair out of her face. "I'm sorry I yelled."

"I'm sorry too." Kagome said quietly. "I don't like fighting with you."

Inuyasha smirked. "Our history together says different."

Kagome smiled, a real smile, and moved closer to him. Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her as best he could, considering she was under the covers and he was above. "Go to sleep, okay." He said. Kagome nodded and listened to the comforting sound of his heartbeat.

Kagome's mom opened the door a crack and looked in. She smiled when she saw that Inuyasha had come back to comfort her, even if he was the one that made her mad. When the light from the hallway shined into the room Inuyasha lifted his head up to see who it was. The two of them made eye contact. Kagome's mom smiled and closed the door before creeping off to her own bedroom.

****

Okay that's the end of chapter forty eight. _I wonder what Kikyo will do _

I only want seven reviews. I'm still a little sick though, so for the love of god don't mention any kind of food or candy in the reviews. If you must, then only talk about crackers. They're the only things I've been able to keep down.

Until next time Lots of love from DD62386


	49. Face To Face

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

****

Notes to my reviewers:

Inufreak831: Sequel? Hmm I'll have to put some thought into that.

Red-tigergirl2: We?

Murubi: Aren't you the little bag of sunshine 

Akida411searcher: ::sniff:: You're the nicest person ever. Most people tell me to hurry. ::sob::

Coyote: Have you ever had to go to the bathroom really bad, but didn't want to leave your computer till the end of the chapter? That's why I apologized for having long chapter. Constructive criticism rocks!!

Badgerwolf: ::grabs stomach:: snickers ouch, now I'm thinking about candy ::runs to bathroom::

MP3gurl4life: No fever, no stomachache, and no form of nausea will stop me from writing my story. : Stands on top of the world with a cape on: It's Super DD62386!

Captured Moon: Damn sisters. They're never any good when you're sick. When I had food poisoning my sister just watched me crawl around on the floor, trying to get into bed. : Imitation of Inuyasha's growl:

Kyosama: Yeah, this story did have a longer run then I ever thought it would. Come to think of it. I didn't spend very much time on the actual spell for Kagome. Lets see other words for hatred spite, scorn, revulsion, repulsion, malignance, loathing, ill will, hostility, hard feelings, grudge, distaste, displeasure, disgust, disfavor, disapproval, coldness, bitterness, abomination, antagonism just a few.

****

Chapter Forty Nine: Final Face Off

Inuyasha woke up before Kagome. Sometime during the night he had moved under the covers and pulled Kagome closer to him. He could feel her hot breath on his chest and would have been more then happy to go right back to sleep, but he could see that Ginsenshi was already standing in his crib watching them.

With a bit of reluctance he pushed the covers off of himself, making sure Kagome was still covered, and walked to the crib. "Do you want to get out?" he whispered.

"Mama." Ginsenshi nodded.

Inuyasha lifted him up and walked out of the room. "You need to learn some new words." He walked down the stares and went into the kitchen where he found Kagome's mom. "Say Grandma."

Ginsenshi smiled. "Mama."

"Close." Inuyasha laughed. "Grandma." He repeated.

Ginsenshi frowned and turned his head away from Inuyasha. Kagome's mom laughed.

"Good morning Inuyasha."

"Morning." Inuyasha said. He walked around the kitchen for a little while pointing out random things to the child in his hands. "Chair, table, ramen, eggs" but the small child would have none of it. He simply shut his eyes and ignored his father. "If you act like this, you're mom will think you're like that bastard brother of mine." He mumbled under his breath.

Ginsenshi opened his eyes and looked up at his father. "Bastard."

"No, don't learn that word."

"Bastard." Ginsenshi repeated.

"Damn it." Inuyasha mumbled as Kagome's mom laughed.

"Damn it." Ginsenshi repeated, causing Kagome's mom to laugh even harder.

"Your mom isn't going to be happy with me."

"Mama. Mama." Ginsenshi repeated happily, clapping his little hands together.

Kagome's mom took Ginsenshi out of Inuyasha's arms. "Would you like some eggs and bacon."

Inuyasha shrugged. "I guess."

Kagome's mom put Ginsenshi in Souta's old high chair and got a plate of food ready for Inuyasha. It was barely set down on the table when Ginsenshi pounded his fist and started fussing. Inuyasha handed the kid a piece of bacon thinking he was hungry, but Ginsenshi just tossed it away and started crying.

"He's gonna wake everyone up." Kagome's mom said, but Souta and Grandpa had already walked into the kitchen.

"Too late mom." Souta mumbled sleepily. "What's wrong with my nephew?"

"I don't know." Inuyasha said handing over a piece of his eggs. But like the bacon, it ended up on the floor behind him. "Ginsenshi, that's rude." He scolded the child.

"Funny that you're the one to teach someone about being polite." Grandpa said as he sat down.

"What's that supposed to mean old man!" Inuyasha growled.

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

Ginsenshi grabbed everyone's attention once again when he let out a loud scream. "Maybe he just wants to be held." Souta said, picking him up. The small child looked up at his uncle and started growling.

Nobody had noticed Kagome walk in until she reached over and grabbed Ginsenshi out of Souta's arms. She sat down across from Inuyasha and let out a little yawn before rubbing the kit's ears. "He's just wanted his ears rubbed." Kagome said as the child calmed down. "He's like his father."

Inuyasha blushed. Ginsenshi made the same content growl that Kagome had heard Inuyasha give from time to time. "Such a good boy." Kagome mumbled, leaning her head to the side and closing her eyes.

She let out another small yawn, but continued to rub Ginsenshi's ears. The child looked up at his mother. "Mama." He said, when she didn't open her eyes he continued talking. "Mama? Bastard."

Inuyasha took a big gulp when Kagome's eyes snapped open. She looked down at her child in almost shock. Ginsenshi took the sudden attention the wrong way and clapped his hands together. "Damn it. Damn it. Damn it."

Inuyasha would have sworn he was a dead man, but Kagome — surprisingly — smiled and laughed. "Did your Dad teach you some new words?"

"I didn't teach him those." Inuyasha lied.

"Bastard brother." Ginsenshi repeated.

Kagome laughed even harder. "Isn't that your name for Sesshomaru."

"Feh."

Kagome handed Ginsenshi to her mother and walked around the table to Inuyasha. "I'm gonna take a shower, then we can go." She said, giving one of his ears a quick rub before heading up to her bathroom.

****

Kikyo sat down on the forest ground. She decided to take a break from her traveling to see what she had. She started her trip in such a hurry that she had only grabbed what she thought was useful. Spread out on the ground before her was her bow, eight poisoned arrows, and one knife.

She smiled at her supplies and thought to herself _I wonder what emotions will pass across Inuyasha's face when I kill his mate and unborn pup all in one._

****

Miroku sat up and stretched out his arms before looking down at his still sleeping wife. He brushed her hair lightly, but quickly pulled his hand back when her eyes opened. "Sorry." He said, "I didn't meant to wake you."

Sango rolled onto her side so she could look at Miroku. "You didn't." she let out a small yawn and sat up. "Do you have to work today. I know you want money for the baby, but I want to spend the day with you." She brushed her hand gently along his arm.

Miroku cupped Sango's head in his hands and kissed her. His mouth soaked up the gasp she let out when their lips met and he took that moment to deepen the kiss. "So what do you want to do?" he mumbled when they pulled apart.

Sango laughed, "Not that pervert." She stood up and grabbed her clothing for the day. "Why don't we go for a walk or something."

Miroku nodded and got dressed as well.

Both of them turned their heads when Kohaku's voice came through the door. "Hey you two, are you decent."

Sango giggled. "Yeah."

Kohaku walked in and smiled. "Good morning."

"Morning." Sango responded. Now that she knew she would spend the day with Miroku she felt a lot better. "Do you want something to eat?"

Kohaku shook his head. "No. I just wanted to tell you guys that some man wants to paint a picture of the entire village. I figured you would want to know, so you can be in it."

"What?"

"He's gonna paint all the villagers."

"Oh. Thanks." She ruffled his hair a little and walked past him. Kohaku followed her into the into the main room of the house where she saw a large assortment of food set out for her. "Did you do this?"

Kohaku nodded. "Yeah. Kagome told me you would be hungry a lot more."

Sango blushed, but didn't deny it. "Thanks. Are Kagome and Inuyasha planning on being in the painting?"

"I don't know. I was just about to go tell them."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I figured Shippo and I could babysit Ginsenshi. I don't think he would sit still long enough to be in the painting."

"That sounds really nice of you."

Kohaku blushed. "Okay. I'll go get them now." He mumbled. Sango laughed at his embarrassment from a simple compliment and started to dig into the food before her.

****

Kagome walked around the room getting dressed as quietly as she possibly could. Inuyasha had a slight case of insomnia last night. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't keep his eyes shut for very long. He even woke Kagome up once and asked her to rub his ears, but even that didn't work, so he left her alone to sleep.

His eyes didn't droop until the sun began to rise. So Kagome was letting him sleep. She glanced down at him before waking out and into Ginsenshi's room. Shippo was in there already playing with him, they both seemed to make up games all the time.

"Hey. Why don't we go for a walk?" She said in a remotely quiet tone.

"Why are you whispering?" Shippo asked.

Kagome flinched at the level of his voice and glanced down the hallway before answering. "Because, Inuyasha didn't sleep well last night."

"Okay." Shippo said. He grabbed Ginsenshi's hand and pulled the child out of the room with him. Ginsenshi did his best to keep up with Shippo pace, but he couldn't make it. So Kagome picked him up.

"Where should we go?" Kagome asked once they were out of the house.

"Kohaku." Ginsenshi clapped happily.

"You want to go see Kohaku?"

Ginsenshi shook his head and pointed up the path they were on. "Kohaku."

"Kagome!" Kohaku yelled out.

Kagome smiled and waved back with her one free arm. "Good morning." She said when he reached them.

"I came to tell you something." He looped his arm with hers and continued walking in the direction Kagome had originally headed.

"And what might that be?"

"This man is going to paint all the villagers, so I figured I could take Shippo and Ginsenshi off your hands. That way you and Inuyasha can be in it without worrying about those two."

"Hey!" Shippo exclaimed. "I'm not a little kid anymore."

"Sure your not." Kohaku laughed. "I just thought you would rather spend the day playing with us rather then standing perfectly still for hours."

Shippo glanced between Kagome and Kohaku, as if considering it. "Fine. I'll go with you." He said to Kohaku.

Kagome laughed. "Is he getting ready to paint it now."

"Yeah."

"Alright." She looked at Kohaku. "If Ginsenshi starts acting fussy, just take him to me. Okay?"

"Alright." Kohaku laughed. He knew that Kagome always grew nervous when she let anyone other then Sango watch her kid. "Come one GinGin. We'll go to the stream."

Kagome frowned a little bit. "GinGin?"

"Yeah. Sango made a nickname for him a while ago."

Kagome sighed. "His name is Ginsenshi." She didn't like the idea that her son's nickname reminded her of an alcoholic drink. She smiled and turned around to head back to her house. She might as well see if Inuyasha was awake or not, he might want to be in the painting.

She was a little disappointed to see that he was still asleep, but didn't dare wake him up. If anyone, he deserved to sleep in. She shifted her weight from foot to foot trying to think of some way to make his presence known in the painting. Then it hit her, Tetsusaiga. Anyone who knew Inuyasha would know Tetsusaiga too.

__

I bet you guys thought I forgot about that painting

****

Kohaku and Shippo invented games to play with Ginsenshi, but as time passed they started to lose new ideas and worried that the small child would get bored. It was their first time babysitting, so they didn't want to run to Kagome and make her think they were incapable of the task.

After two hours though, the boys found themselves at a standstill. "We could always teach him to talk." Shippo suggested after a very long staring contest between Ginsenshi and Kohaku.

"Sounds good." Kohaku sat down in the grass and leaned back on his heels. "Ginsenshi, say Mama'."

"Mama." Ginsenshi repeated happily.

Shippo sat down next to him. "He already knows that word. Ginsenshi, say Shippo'." He commanded pointing to his chest.

Ginsenshi pointed to his own chest. "Shippo."

"No." Shippo grabbed his little hand and placed it on his own chest. "Shippo." Then placing the little hand back on the little chest. "Ginsenshi."

"Shippo." Ginsenshi said again, this time referring to his brother.

"That's right." Kohaku nodded. "You're brother Shippo."

Ginsenshi's ears flicked. "Bastard brother?"

"Hey!" Shippo looked down at him. Kohaku laughed as hard as he could, that was the last thing he expected Ginsenshi to say.

"Lets try a different word." He said inbetween gasps for air. "Ginsenshi, say Daddy'."

Ginsenshi frowned a little. "Damn it."

"What?" Shippo's eyes widened.

"Damn it. Damn it. Damn it." Ginsenshi repeated.

"Okay. We'll come back to Daddy. Ginsenshi, say Fish'."

"F-Fish." Ginsenshi rubbed his ear and looked off in a different direction.

"Ginsenshi," the two continued throwing words at him. "say Ball."

"Ginsenshi, say Candy'."

But Ginsenshi had grown bored of this game'. He folded his arms, closed his eyes, and made the o-so-famous "Feh."

"Wow, he's a lot like Inuyasha." Kohaku whispered.

"Yeah." Shippo responded. "If only his hair was silver instead of black. It would be a perfect match."

"Hey boys!"

All three of them turned their heads to see Kagome walking towards them, holding Tetsusaiga in her hand. "What are you doing?" when she reached them, she instantly took a seat on the grass near them and pulled Ginsenshi into her lap.

"Mama!" Ginsenshi hugged his mother, happy to see her.

"We've been teaching GinGin new words." Kohaku stated.

"Really." Kagome looked down at Ginsenshi and began to rub his ears. The kit made his content growl sound and slowly drifted off to sleep.

"Where's Sango?" Kohaku asked.

"She went for a walk with Miroku. You'll be surprised how little free time they'll get once the baby is born."

Kohaku sighed. "Do you think I'll make a good uncle?"

"Definitely."

Kagome lifted her head as a soft breeze that carried the scent of flowers hit. "It's such a nice day." Kagome said. "Maybe we should have a pic-" suddenly something caught her eye.

"What's wrong mom?" Shippo asked.

"I thought I saw something." She mumbled standing up. "Kohaku, could you hold Ginsenshi for a second?"

"Sure." He took the sleeping child from Kagome's arms as she went to investigate what she had seen. It looked like a flash of red cloth among the trees.

"Stay here." She told the two when she was some distance away. She walked into the area of trees and looked around, keeping a tight hold on Tetsusaiga. "Is anyone here?" she called out.

After hearing and seeing nothing, she decided that it must have been her imagination and headed back to where the boys were. The smiled as she approached them, but then their faces grew suddenly dark. Their eyes wide and their mouths open. Kagome was about to question this change in their faces when an arm from behind tightened around her neck.

Kagome gasped for air as she was lifted off the ground. "You didn't think we were through did you?" Came the sharp whisper of Kikyo.

"Get help." Was all Kagome was able to get out. Kohaku nodded, grabbed Shippo's hand, and headed off towards the village. Cursing himself for leaving the safety of it in the first place.

****

Miroku held Sango's hand tightly in his as he walked with her along an old path. "I was doing the math in my head" he said to break the silence " you should be having the baby during the winter."

Sango nodded. "I know. I wonder who will deliver first. Kagome or I."

"I think you will."

"Why."

"Because I said so." Miroku laughed.

Sango laughed too. "And what you say can't be argued. Is that it?"

"Yeah. You'll have our baby first and it will be a girl."

"A girl?"

"Yup. And she will grow up and marry Ginsenshi."

"You have this all figured out don't you."

Miroku smiled. "I do."

They both looked up the path and noticed Kohaku running very fast towards them carrying and pulling Shippo and Ginsenshi with him. "Kohaku. What's wrong?" Sango asked when she saw the look on his face.

"Kagome is in trouble! Kikyo is attacking her!"

Miroku didn't need to hear another word, he started running in the direction that Kohaku came from. Sango took Ginsenshi out of his arms, the child was now awake and crying. "Go with Miroku, I'll watch Shippo and GinGin."

"Tell Inuyasha!" Kohaku yelled as he followed Miroku.

Sango nodded. She steadied Ginsenshi with one arm and picked Shippo up with the other one. "Can't I stay and help?" Shippo wined, looking off in the direction the others ran off in.

"No Shippo. You, Ginsenshi, and I are going to stay out of dangers way." Sango responded as she ran.

"You? You're a good fighter. Shouldn't you be helping?"

"I'm pregnant." She reminded him.

Sango ran as fast as her legs would carry her, stopping at her house only for a few minutes to drop off Shippo and Ginsenshi. "I'll be back in a little bit, okay."

Shippo nodded, holding his little brother's hand tightly.

Sango felt bad for him and wanted to comfort him, but she needed to get Inuyasha. It was a good thing his house wasn't that far away from them. She kept on running despite the pain in her chest and burst into the main room. "Inuyasha!" she yelled out at the top of her lungs. "Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha woke up instantly and rushed into the room. "What's wrong?" he asked, picking up the panic in her voice.

"K-Kikyo is attacking Kagome!" She bent over a little gasping for air.

"Where are they?"

"The hot springs."

Inuyasha didn't bother looking for his Tetsusaiga or waiting for Sango to catch her breath. He ran out the door towards the hot spring as fast as he could.

****

Once Kohaku, Shippo, and Ginsenshi were well out of sight Kagome pushed her entire body backwards as much as she could, slamming Kikyo against a tree. Her grip around Kagome's neck loosened a little, but she didn't let go. So Kagome did it again and again till the clay woman finally let go.

"Kikyo." Kagome fell to her knees coughing. She tried to get as much of her breath back as possible, but Kikyo didn't wait for her. She lifted her foot and kicked Kagome hard in the jaw repeatedly.

Kagome fell to the ground and spit out some blood before standing up again. She reached over and grabbed some of Kikyo's hair and pulled it as hard as she could. "What the _hell_ are you doing here!"

"I want my jewel back."

"It isn't yours."

"It should be!" Kikyo screamed. She reached down and dug her nails into the back of Kagome's knee, drawing blood. Kagome cried out and fell to the ground. Once she was down Kikyo jumped on top of her, punched Kagome once, then drew one of her arrows and aimed it for her neck.

Kagome gasped and kicked Kikyo off. She started to crawl away, but Kikyo once again caught her. But this time she dragged Kagome over to the hot spring and held her head under the steaming water.

Kagome kicked and tossed her arms as hard as she could, but Kikyo had a very strong grip on the back of her neck. It didn't take long for a lot of Kagome's energy to drain. She couldn't struggle anymore and her vision started to go fuzzy. She was just about to black out when Kikyo suddenly let go.

She lifted her head out of the water and took in as much air as she possible could. When she turned around she saw that Miroku and Kohaku had both pulled Kikyo off her. "A-Are you alright Kagome?" Kohaku asked.

"Yeah." She breathed deeply.

Kikyo lifted her head quickly and banged it into Miroku's face, when he grabbed his broken nose she used her free arm to punch Kohaku. When both Miroku and Kohaku had let go of her she reached for her knife and tried to cut into Kagome's throat.

Kagome reached for Tetsusaiga and used that to block the knife. As Kikyo tried to push the knife harder Kagome kicked her in the stomach and sent her flying a few feet.

Kikyo staggered to her feet and was about to go after Kagome again when she heard a growling. She turned around and saw Inuyasha staring at her. "Kikyo. What are you doing?" he took one step towards her.

Kikyo saw the way his claws were ready to attack, so she drew three arrows on one bow and pointed them at Kagome. "Stop Inuyasha." He did. "You'll stay away from me."

"Don't hurt Kagome." he said, a hint of panic in his voice.

Kikyo drew the bow tighter. When Inuyasha saw this he started to run towards her, by the time Kikyo had let go of the bow, Inuyasha had moved his arm in front of them. He let out a sharp hiss, but didn't leave Kagome.

Kikyo's eyes widened. "They're poisoned Inuyasha."

"I know." He said between his gritted teeth.

Kagome let out a soft cry, those looked just like the arrow that poisoned her. "Inuyasha." She whispered.

Kikyo frowned. "Move Inuyasha." She commanded. When he didn't budge she drew two more arrows and shot them into his chest. "Move!" she yelled out.

Inuyasha didn't move, but the two other arrows in his chest caused him to fall to the ground, leaving Kagome unprotected. Kikyo walked closer to her and held an arrow in her hand. She didn't draw it into the bow, but instead pressed it against Kagome's stomach. "Would you like me to kill the pup first?" she said coldly. "Put it out of its misery."

Inuyasha's growl grew louder and he grabbed Kikyo's ankle causing her to crash to the ground. Kikyo gasped at the sudden attack and shoved the arrow into Inuyasha's shoulder. He let out a groan, but managed to get up on his knees. Kikyo quickly got her ground back too and distanced herself from Inuyasha.

Letting out a snarl Inuyasha started to run after Kikyo, Kagome noticed right away that he had turned into his full demon self. Kikyo shot her last two arrows into his stomach, but not in time to stop him from raising his claws and cutting into her.

Kikyo let out a small scream as she fell, dying before she even hit the ground. Inuyasha turned away from her and started to walk towards Kagome, but couldn't make it. Eight poisoned arrows were too much for him to take. He only made if a few steps before passing out.

Kagome screamed and ran towards him. "Inuyasha!" she knelt down beside him. He wasn't dead, but she could tell he wasn't that far from it. He had a cold sweat all over his body.

"Kagome. We need to take him to Kaede's house."

Kagome held back some tears that burned her eyes. "Will he be alright?" she asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

Miroku and Kohaku both lifted Inuyasha's body. " I don't know." He said quietly, not able to look Kagome in the eyes.

****

Finally. I thought I would never get this chapter done. It's sad but true the next chapter will be my last.

Until then I want 8 reviews one for every poisoned arrow that Inuyasha took.

Lots and Lots and Lots of Love DD62386


	50. Epilogue

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha

****

Notes to my reviewers:

Lil-Derrty: Hmm I'll have to come up with some kind of a bang to go out on.

Gamemasta: ::sigh:: You're one of my favorite reviewers, you're always there to keep me on my toes. Offering me a well deserved pat on the back or a well deserved slap in the face. I'm gonna miss you. I hope you continue to review any other stories I come up with.

Alex: ALEX!! Why! Why! Why to you tease my emotions like that. I'm only human! MUST YOU BE SO CRUEL!!

Captured Moon: I would have loved it if my first sentence had been Dammit to Hell'. But stupid me, I had to go with Kitty run away'. I've decided to dedicate this, last, chapter to Mr. Pizza. He's so amazing. I wish I could give him more. Everyone has been telling me how sad they are that this story is ending now I'm depressed. ::sob:: I need ::sob:: hot chocolate (that always cheers me up).

****

Chapter Fifty: Epilogue

Miroku didn't return to his house until late into the night. The others had fallen asleep, but Sango was still awake. The second he walked in the door Sango practically flew into his arms. "Miroku I was so worried. Is Kagome alright? Where is she? What happened to Kikyo? What about Inu-"

"Slow down Sango. It's been a long day." Miroku rubbed his forehead and sat down next to the lit fire in the middle of the room.

Sango kneeled down and started to heat up the soup she had made earlier and waited for Miroku to tell her what was going on. She tired not to worry about the lack of color in his face or the dark bruises around his nose, but she was finding it very hard. After a long moment of silence he took in a deep breath.

"Kikyo is dead." Miroku started. Sango let out a small gasp, but allowed him to continue. "You and I should collect her ash and bones in the morning."

"Ash and bones?"

"Yes. After she died her body returned to it's original form, the form she had before the old witch made a clay version of her."

Sango filled a bowl and handed it to Miroku, though he didn't make and sign of willingness to eat. "Does that mean Kagome has her entire soul back?" she asked.

Miroku nodded, "I watched it leave Kikyo's body and enter her's, but I'm not sure Kagome even noticed. She was crying over Inuyasha to much to notice anything."

"Inuyasha! What happened to him?"

Miroku let out a sigh. "Do you remember that arrow that poisoned Kagome?"

"Yes."

"He took eight of them."

"Eight!" Sango practically yelled. "Is he going to be alright?"

"We're not sure. Kaede doesn't think he will live to see Kagome's baby being born ... if it's born at all."

The last bit of his sentence caught her attention. "What do you mean 'If it's born at all'?"

"Kaede and I thought it would be wise to work on Inuyasha without her around, get the worst of his injuries out of the way so she won't be so shocked. So we sent her back to her era to see a doctor. She's really worried that the fight might have caused damage to her baby."

Sango's hands fell to her stomach, she didn't know how she could ever deal with it if anything happened her unborn baby. "D-Do you think Inuyasha will live?" she asked hesitantly.

Miroku leaned back and seemed to think about it for a long time. When he looked up at Sango he could tell that she was worried about his answer. "No. I don't think he will." he said quietly.

Sango let out a sob and moved over to Miroku. He wrapped his arm around her in an effort to comfort her, "Poor Kagome." she said in a whisper "She could lose her pup and mate all at once."

****

Kagome watched the sun set form her mother's front porch. Earlier that day, she asked her mom to drop her off at the hospital, but didn't explain why. Now she sat there alone unable to bring herself to go inside.

She didn't want to explain to her family what happened that morning. She didn't want to tell them that Inuyasha might not live to see his daughter being born. The door behind her opened and she was hit with the smell of a hot meal, but didn't move. Even when Souta sat down next to her.

"Aren't you hungry, Kagome."

She shook her head.

"Sure? Mom cooked your favorite."

Kagome didn't answer, she just looked down at her feet.

"A-Are you going back to Inuyasha's time tonight?"

"No. Miroku told me to spend the night here." Said in a shaky voice, trying not to sob uncontrollably at the sound of Inuyasha's name.

Souta let out a sigh. "Kagome is something wrong? Why did you go to the hospital today?"

"I I'm pregnant again." She mumbled.

"That's good right?"

"Yeah."

"T-Then why are you crying."

Kagome's hands moved up to her cheeks and felt the tears on it. She hadn't even realized she had been crying. She bit her bottom lip and looked of towards the well. "I can't I can't talk about it. Not yet. Sorry."

Souta rested his head on his hand and stayed next to her sister in silence. He didn't know what was bothering her and he didn't know how to help, but if there was anything he could do, he would. He wanted to stay by her side. Kagome noticed this gesture and gave a little smile for the first time in a while. It was nice to know that her brother was there to comfort her if she needed it.

It wasn't much longer till Kagome's mom appeared at the door too. "Aren't you two hungry?" she asked.

They both shook their heads. "Souta, why don't you go in and eat dinner with Grandpa." She said, taking a seat on the other side of Kagome.

Souta was about to say no, but saw a don't - argue' look on his mom's face. "Alright." He patted Kagome's shoulder once before going inside.

Once he was gone, Kagome and her mother were surrounded by the silence of the late night. Something that didn't happen very often in this era. "So " her mother broke the silence, "do you plan on telling me what's wrong."

"I I can't." Kagome mumbled, shuffling her feet.

"Did you and Inuyasha have a fight?"

"No."

Kagome's mom rubbed her back with one of her hands. "I just want to know what's bothering you."

"I'm gonna have another baby." She said, wiping her eyes. "A girl."

"A girl. You know already!"

"Yeah."

Kagome's mom leaned back. "Well, that's good news. Isn't it?"

Kagome sighed. "Y-You remember Kikyo."

"That girl that you're the reincarnation of?"

"Yeah. Well, she and I were in a fight. She wanted to take the jewel from me, so she tried to kill me."

Kagome's mom gasped. "Hun. Are you alright? Is that why you went to the hospital today."

Kagome nodded. "Miroku thought it would be wise to see a doctor and make sure the baby isn't hurt."

"Is she?"

"No. He said that everything looked fine, but he wants to check me again in six months."

Kagome's mom glanced towards the well. "Are you going back tonight to tell Inuyasha."

Kagome suddenly broke down in tears. "I can't mom." She said in between her sobs. "Miroku told me not to come back until morning."

"Why?" she asked. Trying her best to comfort Kagome.

"When Kikyo started to fight me Inuyasha stepped in. He got so hurt mom," Kagome buried her face in her hands, "Nobody's even sure if he'll live."

Kagome's mom wrapped her arm around Kagome's shoulder, not really sure how to comfort her. "Sweetie whatever happens you need to think about your kids."

Kagome nodded. "Mom. How did you get over it when Dad died?"

"You never really _get over_ the death of someone you love Kagome. You simply learn to deal with it. Trust me, you'll learn to smile again. I did."

Kagome nodded again and stood up to go inside. She wanted nothing more the to crawl under the sheets of her bed and go to sleep, though she doubted that it would even be possible.

****

The next few days were the hardest for Kagome. Miroku and some other men from the village had moved Inuyasha's body from Kaede's house to his, because she refused to leave his side. It seemed to others that she was sleeping and eating a lot less, but none of them could blame her.

Sometime Sango would sit with her in the room she kept Inuyasha, but the two didn't talk much. Nobody knew what to say to make Kagome feel better. Miroku had gone away a few days ago when someone got the idea to fetch Lady Lei, hoping she could help.

So now all anyone could do was wait

Sango had been keeping her eye on Shippo and Ginsenshi most of the time. She didn't want them to see their mother so upset and their father so near death. However, one day Ginsenshi escaped from her watch and ran to his house.

He sniffed around for his mommy and walked into her room. When he saw Inuyasha on the ground the small child merely thought his father was sleeping and ran over too him and began pulling on his ears. "Wake up." He said in a cheerful tone.

When Inuyasha didn't move, Ginsenshi pulled a little harder, then turned to look up at his mommy. "Wake up" he said softly.

Kagome reached out and hugged Ginsenshi. "I'm sorry sweetie, daddy might be sleeping for a long time." She tried her best not to cry in front of him.

Ginsenshi wiggled out of his mother's arms and crawled over to his father. He pressed one ear against Inuyasha's chest and quietly said, "Ginsenshi loves daddy."

Kagome bit her lower lip when she heard this. _He said Daddy'. Inuyasha would have loved to hear that._ She thought.

Sango burst into the room looking very panic stricken for a minute, Shippo standing right behind her. As soon as she saw Ginsenshi her face soften though. "Thank god." She mumbled under her breath. "I was worried that I lost him."

"It's alright." Kagome managed to say without her voice cracking.

If Sango got the vibe that Kagome wanted to be alone, she ignored it. She took a seat right next to her. "Has their been any change in Inuyasha?" she asked.

"No." Kagome shook her head. "Has Miroku returned yet?"

Sango sighed, "No. I'm beginning to get worried. If he doesn't get back soon Inuyasha might not -" she suddenly cut herself off "Sorry."

Kagome looked down at Inuyasha. "I wonder if Lady Lei will even be able to help."

"She helped you didn't she?"

"Yeah, but that was just one little prick on my finger. He took eight."

Sango grabbed Kagome's hand. "Listen, I know you don't want to leave Inuyasha's side but we're having a ceremony for Kikyo tonight. To put her ashes to rest. Do you want to come?"

Kagome thought about it for a few seconds before nodding. "Yeah. I should say goodbye to her on Inuyasha's behalf at least. Come get me when it's time."

****

Miroku walked through the village Kagome had given him directions too. Some of the villagers guided him to Lady Lei's hut, but an ever-present nervous feeling grew in his stomach. What if she didn't agree to come help. Or even if she did, what if it was too late. He could only hope for Kagome's sake.

Eventually he found himself at an older looking hut with an elderly woman sitting in front. "Excuse me miss." He walked up to her. "You wouldn't happen to be Lady Lei would you?"

"I am, Miroku, how may I help you?"

Miroku smiled. "You know my name?"

"Yes. What do you need?"

"Some help."

Lady Lei stood up and motioned for Miroku to follow her indoors. "What kind of trouble has Inuyasha gotten himself into now?" she asked when they were both seated.

"How do you know this is about Inuyasha?"

"Why else would you be here?"

Miroku rubbed his forehead. "Do you remember the poisoned arrow that Kagome got pricked by."

"Yes."

"Inuyasha got shot by eight of them."

"Eight!"

"Yes. Is there anything you could do to help?"

Lady Lei looked over her shoulder at some of the powders along her wall. "I don't know. Eight is a big number."

"If you could come back and try, even if you don't succeed, I'm sure Kagome would be very grateful."

Lady Lei rubbed her chin at the mention of Kagome's name. "I guess I could try for her at least."

Miroku thanked her and helped her pack some of the powders and potions she thought she would need. "It is only about a three days walk. Do you think you can handle it."

Lady Lei gave a little chuckle. "Young man, I may look old, but trust me I can travel quickly."

****

Kagome stared at the grave as everyone paid his or her last respects. Kagome had grown angry when some of the people made comments like She deserved what happened to her' It's a good thing Inuyasha got her before she got Kagome'. Kagome thought that, even thought she wasn't the same person she was in the past, her funeral should be treated with respect.

As the sun went down and people started to leave she kneeled down and placed her hand over the freshly turned earth. "Poor thing." She whispered.

Kaede bent down next to Kagome and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Before my sister died, the first time, she was a very kind soul. You and she would have gotten along wonderfully."

Kagome smiled. "I'm sure we would have." She stood up, feeling a little tired. "I'm gonna go home now." She sighed. Kaede nodded and watched her walk away.

Kagome continued till she was at her house. It was the first time been away from Inuyasha that long since he got hurt and she didn't like the feeling. _What if something happened to him_ she thought to herself.

Her fears were, sadly, confirmed when she walked into her bedroom. Inuyasha was gritting his teeth and his whole body was covered with a cold sweat. "Inuyasha." She gasped running over to him. When she knelt down beside him she found that his forehead was burning up and his body was shacking all over.

She grabbed his hand and held it to her face. "Inuyasha. Don't die." She pleaded tears in her eyes. Inuyasha's grip on her hand tightened extremely for a moment. Almost to the point of break Kagome's bones. Then it suddenly loosened.

****

Kagome's mom sat in her garden digging holes for new flowers to plant. She had so many colorful ones this year, she couldn't wait to see the new life in her yard. But as she dug a little deeper her shovel hit something wooden.

With a careful touch she dug out a small wooden box, it looked like it had been buried a long time. She was struck with much curiosity and opened the box.

****

"When are we going to be allowed to go home?" Shippo asked. He didn't hate Sango's house, he just missed his room.

Sango served soup to him and Kohaku. "Kagome has enough on her mind. She shouldn't have to worry about where her children are all the time."

Ginsenshi sucked his thumb a little bit. Sango had noticed that he seemed more depressed since he had run off to Kagome. "Daddy sleeps." He mumbled from time to time.

Everyone ate their dinner in silence until Miroku walked through the door followed by an elderly woman that everyone assumed was Lady Lei. "Sango dear," he walked over to her "I'm back."

She gasped and jumped up to hug him. "I missed you so much."

"Where is Inuyasha?" Lady Lei asked. If Inuyasha was in as much trouble as Miroku described, they shouldn't waste time on greetings.

"Oh." Sango shook her head at her own lack of forward thinking. "Kagome keeps him at her house. We'll take you there." She tuned to Kohaku, "Keep and eye on Ginsenshi and Shippo, okay."

Kohaku nodded.

Miroku and Sango showed Lady Lei down the path to Kagome's house and entered it without knocking, knowing that Kagome would be in her bedroom. The three of them walked in to the room and saw Kagome pressing her ear against Inuyasha's chest. "I can't feel a heart beat." She said hysterically. "I think he's he's "

Miroku and Lady Lei moved quickly across the room and kneeled beside him while Sango pulled Kagome to the other end of the room. Kagome buried her face in Sango shoulder. She didn't want to look at Inuyasha's pail complexion.

"He's dead." Miroku said finally. Kagome let out a cry, Sango rubbing her back. Miroku took a cloth and covered Inuyasha's face then looked over at Kagome. He didn't know what to say or do for her.

"Let me talk to Kagome." Lady Lei whispered. "Alone."

Miroku nodded and stood up. He tapped Sango and motioned for her to follow him. Sango nodded and when she was sure that Kagome wouldn't fall to the ground the second she let go, she followed Miroku out of the room.

Once they were gone Lady Lei walked over to Kagome and pulled her into a hug. Kagome tried to stop crying, but was having a hard time. "No child, you should cry if you need to. Don't hold it in."

Time seemed like an unimportant thing as Kagome cried into Lady Lei's shoulder. It might have been hours or days she didn't know or care. Lady Lei just stood there holding her until Kagome had cried every single tear she could.

"Now child," Lady Lei dried Kagome's face when she was finished, "you and I need to talk."

Kagome looked over at Inuyasha's body, "D-Do you have any potions that could bring him back?"

"I don't think there are potions like that. But there is another way."

Kagome's gaze moved back to Lady Lei's, "Another way? How?"

"Think child."

Kagome thought for a few moments. How do you bring someone back from the dead. "S-Sesshomaru. He could use his -"

Lady Lei shook her head. "Would Sesshomaru really be willing to do that, for Inuyasha."

Kagome sighed. "No. But that's the only way."

"You're not thinking child." Lady Lei pressed her fingers against Kagome's collarbone. "There is another way." Then, without another word, she left Kagome alone.

"Another way." Kagome whispered to herself, pressing her own fingers against her collarbone. "What other way -" then her eyes widened, _The jewel was Lady Lei talking about the jewel._

Kagome did the logic in her head. She could make a wish on the jewel. But then the well would close and she wouldn't be able to see her mom, her grandfather, or Souta ever again. She bit her lower lip, it would simply be an object of choosing between Inuyasha and her family.

She closed her eyes and actually looked down, deep, into her heart. But the answer came simple and clear Inuyasha. She loved him too much to choose her family over him. "But I need to say goodbye to Mom." She whispered to herself.

With a sigh she wrote a message on a small piece of paper and tucked it into a wooden box she had planned on using to hide the jewel. "I'll be right back." She spoke to Inuyasha as if he was still alive.

She walked into the cool night air. The moon was already high in the sky. She mentally measured the distance till she found herself in the spot where, 500 years from now, her mother would plant a garden. And without letting a single cry or tear escape her she buried the box.

After a pause she made her way back to her house. Her room. Her Inuyasha. She knelt beside him with the jewel held tightly in her hand. _I want to make a wish._ She said mentally.

The soft voice of a female entered her head. "Yes Kagome. What do you wish for."

__

I want Inuyasha to come back to me. I wish he were alive.

The jewel in her hand started to grow warmer , and warmer, and warmer, until it grew hot. So hot that Kagome had to let go. She opened her hand and looked down at it. The jewel changed from its normal pink color to a bright white that lit up the entire room.

As soon as her palm was open the jewel seemed to float into the air until it was hovering over Inuyasha. The light grew brighter and brighter until the jewel suddenly burst into dust, completely covering Inuyasha.

Kagome watched with wide eyes as the dust started to disappear, almost like it was sinking into Inuyasha's body. Once it was all gone the room went dark again, other then the small candle she had lit earlier that day. Moments seemed to go by extremely slowly as she waited for a change in Inuyasha.

After an eternity his eyes actually opened and he, slowly, sat up. "Kagome." he said in a gruff voice.

"Inuyasha?" she reached out and touched his cheek, almost unable to believe that he was really back.

"Do we have any Ramen?" He asked with a smirk.

Kagome let out a small laugh and threw her arms around him. "I love you so much." She cried, squeezing him tightly.

Inuyasha looked down at her with a little confusion. He had no idea what was happening. The last thing he remembered was taking a nap after having a night filled with insomnia. With a shrug he hugged Kagome back, she could explain it later. He let out a soft growl that always seemed to relax Kagome.

"Where's Shippo and GinGin?" he asked.

"They're both at Sango's house." Kagome mumbled into his chest, but no sooner had the words left her mouth did the two come running into the room. Miroku and Sango right behind him.

"Kagome," Sango said "Lady Lei told us you might use the jewel too -" but she stopped when she saw Inuyasha sitting up, looking at her. "Inuyasha. You're alive."

"'Course I'm alive. What the hell did you think?"

"Daddy!" Ginsenshi ran into his father's lap.

"Finally." Inuyasha muttered, pleased that Ginsenshi learned the word Daddy'.

Shippo jumped on Inuyasha's shoulder and Sango wrapped her arms around Inuyasha and Kagome both. Miroku wasn't able to find room to hug Inuyasha so he settled for patting the hanyou's back.

"Okay." Inuyasha growled. "Why the fuck is everyone hugging me?"

There was a collective laugh that Inuyasha couldn't understand. Though he wouldn't have admitted it to anyone at that moment. He was enjoying all the attention and knew he wouldn't have changed it for the world.

****

When the box was opened Kagome's mom found a small piece of paper in it. She carefully took it out and unfolded it. A small gasped escaped her lips when she recognized Kagome's hand writing. She clutched the paper and read the one word on it.

__

Goodbye'

****

Normally I would say I'm not posting the next chapter till I get six reviews', but I can't really do that this time. So I'll say this. I will not write another story as long as I live until I get six reviews.

I guess we all knew this story had to end sometime. I love all the reviews, you guys are the best. I love you all.

Lots and Lots of Love from DayDreamer62386


End file.
